


All the stars align and you are by my side.

by northernlightslarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Forgive me for I have sinned, Frog and Hedgehog, Hideously self-indulgent, I am Jon Snow. I know nothing, Imma get your heart racing in my skin tight jeans, Louis Tops Always, Louis aka big spoon, Louis is a chef, M/M, Not Larry ;), chef!Louis, harry is a popstar, i love larry, just maybe - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, maybe smut, popstar!harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-09 00:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4326714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/northernlightslarry/pseuds/northernlightslarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The AU where Harry is a world famous popstar who comes home for Christmas and Louis is a great chef and Harry's mum likes to meddle.</p><p>Ft. Niall as head of Harry's PR team and Liam a cute Lima bean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1.

**Author's Note:**

> I have worked hard with this. Very hard. 
> 
> Also, I have experimented a lot with their personalities. I made Harry hate cats. (YES WHAT HAVE I DONE)
> 
> Not to mention my beautiful betas who I never listen to but they gave me really helpful advice and motivation. Fucking gorgeous unicorns- Ro and Zo.

It was official. Harry hated airports. With a strong, disgruntling passion and flinched when the mention of visiting or going through an airport came up. Whenever interviewers or fans asked him what super power he would choose if he could, his answer was always the same. _Teleportation_. Anything to avoid a flight.

 

When he was 16, airports held a certain charm. You could see a variety of people, going about their businesses. Some were leaving their old lives behind to face a whole new world, others were coming back to their old ones. The smell of Duty Free shops and the idea of seeing new places had fascinated sixteen year old Harry, who was about to take the plunge and board a flight to London for his X Factor audition. But now, after five years, not so much.

He had made it big, even though he was a runner up in the competition. Life was a blur after he signed a 3 year contract (now extended to two more) with a prestigious record label. Everything started happening way too fast after that, it was almost impossible to keep up. A hit single, an album, a tour and fans. Actual people who loved his music. And not in tens or hundreds either. _Thousands_. That part was the most difficult to accept. Now after five years and four mega world tours, suffice to say that Harry couldn't stand flying anymore.

Contrary to what 16 year old Harry had believed, airports now meant an aching back and neck and horrible jet lags.

After landing in London, Harry was craving his bed and was overwhelmed by the need to pass the fuck out. But no, he had to go through another few hours of a car journey to reach Holmes Chapel, his childhood home. _Great_. Harry felt terrible about complaining, he really did. According to Time magazine, Harry Styles had a net worth of $250 million. Complaining about flying for 15 hours in business class felt petty when people still struggled to have a roof over their heads. He mentally scolded himself and tugged his beanie further down his head as he moved towards the exit with his security people around him. He'd be home soon. _Soon_.

"Harry, wake up. We're here." Harry heard a voice say. _Jim_ , He realized. His personal bodyguard. Harry opened his eyes to his mum's driveway. It took him some time to adjust his eyes to the little sunshine outside. _It was a good day in terms of England weather_ , Harry thought. He'd been travelling constantly for the past month between dreadfully cold Toronto and New York to work with different producers and on other projects. He had a two month break now and instead of spending it in his LA home like he usually did, this time he chose to spend it with his mum in Holmes Chapel. His mum had been only too happy to have her 'superstar' son back home. He had always cringed when people used that word.

He thanked his security detail, gathered his bags and went inside to his waiting mother and more importantly, his own bed.

He never realized how much he missed his mother's cooking until she made a shephard pie that night for dinner.

"I still can't believe I get to have you for two whole months, Harry. It's been a long time and I have missed you so much. Gemma will arrive next week and it's going to be just like old times." Anne, his mum, said caressing his cheek.

He leaned into her motherly touch and smiled, "I'm happy to be back too, mum. It's been a tough couple of months and I needed a break." Harry mumbled through a mouthful of pie.

"Good. You know you can always come back here whenever things get too much. Okay? I've changed your sheets and your bed is ready. You should go to sleep now. You must be tired."

"Night, mum." Harry kissed her cheek.

 

Harry felt like he was floating among clouds when he crawled in his old bed. It was just the perfect amount of soft and the pillow not too thick or thin. It smelled like detergent but it also smelled like his childhood and home. Harry was going to pass the fuck out and won't wake up. Not even when September ends. Turns out, Harry was jet lagged so he woke up at noon the next day to a voice that didn't belong to his mother. The same voice could be heard arguing with his mother about the benefits of green tea over normal tea. Harry rubbed his eyes and stretched. He'd slept for a good fifteen hours and it felt good. After brushing his teeth and dressing in an old jumper and sweats, he made his way downstairs to the voices. He saw his mother standing behind the kitchen counter with a mug of tea and a young man sitting in front of her talking animatedly with wild hand gestures. His back was facing Harry. Harry cleared his throat and his mum looked up. Anne smiled,

"Morning, Harry. Come sit. I'll start the tea."

The young man turned towards Harry and smiled. And for a brief second, Harry forgot how to breathe. The man was gorgeous. He was wearing a green hoodie that brought out the blue in his eyes. His cheekbones looked sharper than anything else. With soft ruffled caramel hair and a small but muscular body he was very beautiful. Harry willed himself to breathe and focused on standing upright. 

Harry had never been shy about his sexuality. He was a bi. And he'd come out a long time ago during his X factor days. Being in the business that he was, he'd met a lot of beautiful people. Dated a few of them too. So he should be obviously be desensitized to it, right? Except he wasn't. Example - gorgeous guy sitting in his mum's kitchen. Harry told himself to calm the fuck down. He could turn out to be a distant cousin or whatever for all Harry knew. He cringed mentally at the thought.

His mother interrupted him from his thought process. "Harry, this is Louis Tomlinson. He just moved in next door in Jeff Tomlinson's old house. You remember Jeff right? Lou works at that restaurant I was telling you about. He's a wonderful cook." Anne beamed.

_Louis Tomlinson. Huh._

Harry sat next to him on the stool and sipped his tea, "Hi." He gave him a quick smile. Louis Tomlinson didn't say anything, just stared. Harry smirked mentally. Now, he didn't want to sound conceited or anything but he knows he isn't too hard on the eyes. He's been told his dimples and smile are precious and they have worked miracles before. Harry isn't going to apologize for being charming, okay?

"Nice to meet you, Harry. My sisters are fans." Louis Tomlinson says while tracing the rim of his tea mug with his finger. Harry is captivated.

''Only the sisters?" He asks cheekily trying not to stare at his fingers.

"No, no. My mother too." Louis Tomlinson smirks back. God, he was handsome one.

Anne interrupts their staring match, "Harry. Behave." she says sternly with a hint of mockery in her tone. His mum is too clever and she's enjoying this.

"Louis is a chef. A brilliant one at that. I've been getting all his secret recipes lately. He's a darling." Anne said, patting Louis head.

"I think you already mentioned that, mum." Harry would've missed the slight flush in Louis' cheeks if he wasn't sitting next to him. Louis ducked down and was all tiny smiles and fifty shades of bashful. Harry was clearly enjoying himself.

"I'm not that good, Anne." Louis Tomlinson smiles. Harry chose to speak up at that moment.

"A chef, huh? So what do you make?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Harry wanted to slap himself, take those words back and eat them up along with his stupidity. Did I really just ask him that stupid question?

Harry expected Louis Tomlinson to laugh at him and take the piss but he just smiled - he always smiled oozing out sunshine and warmth, Harry was getting annoyed about it - and launched into a discussion of what he liked to make versus what he was best at. Harry did his best to pay attention, he really did. But it was difficult to listen about fondant cakes when Louis Tomlinson's eyes grew really small and crinkly when he smiled too wide. Harry was fascinated by it. He tried to not look like he was staring, often looking down at his feet and playing with his bracelets. Harry also noticed his mother had quietly left the room, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.

"You know, I thought you'd turn out to be a douche like those _do you know who I am?_ type divas but you seem just fine." Louis said playfully.

"Jumping on conclusions will get you nowhere, Louis Tomlinson." Harry grinned. He hoped he didn't come off as too strong. After all, Louis Tomlinson could turn out to be painfully straight. Or in a relationship.

"Hey I am not jumping anywhere. Aren't they all douchebags? The celebs, I mean."

Harry thought carefully before answering. "Most of them, yes. But we're humans, you know. There is a reason for why everyone are the way they are. And that doesn't mean I condone peeing publicly in mop buckets or justifying it in anyway. But yeah." Harry decided to shut his trap before he could actually start rambling. He didn't want Louis Tomlinson to think he was a know-it-all diva with an ego bigger than freaking Russia.

Harry expected Louis Tomlinson- shit, he needed to stop using his full name in his head - to make a sarcastic comment or something; he seemed like the sarcastic type after all. But Louis just kept sipping his tea. No one said anything for a while. Harry could hear Anne moving about in the living room and he could hear the slurping noises Louis Tomlinson made while occasionally sipping his tea and looking deep in thought.

"I should leave, yeah? Me shift at the restaurant's about to begin. See you around, mate." Louis said as if Harry wasn't the third biggest musical act in the world or the recepeint of a Grammy, 3 VMAs, 4 AMAs and a five times Billboard chart topper. Harry liked that. He really did.

"See you around, Louis Tomlinson." Harry said. _Get your shit together, Harry._

Louis started walking out but stopped mid track. "You should drop by sometime. At the restaurant, I mean. Anne knows where it is." Louis had a hopeful look in his eyes and maybe, just maybe Harry's gaydar wasn't the worst.

    

\---

 

Louis wasn't expecting anything. Nothing at all. Maybe his subtle invitation looked stupid. The guy was a famous popstar. He must be having better places to go, the more _posh_ ones. Louis wasn't completely oblivious to the pop culture. He had two teenage sisters, for God's sake. Sisters who basically worshiped Harry Styles and kissed the ground he walked on. They'd freak if they found out that their older brother had tea with Harry freaking Styles at his own home. Which is precisely why he decided to keep the tiny bit of information to himself. It wasn't really a big deal for him. Harry was just a normal guy with an abnormal job and he seemed okay. Louis ignored the part of his mind which was thinking about just how _fit_ Harry was.

Now that was another story. He'd known Harry was coming to stay at his mum's for 2 months. Anne hadn't been able to stop talking about it, she was that excited. Their conversations about different types of steaks and salads sometimes turned to, 'So this one time Harry and Gemma got into a cracker eating contest and...' and would end up with, 'Harry's coming back in 2 weeks maybe I should make that pot roast.'

Louis was also no stranger to the magical world of Internet. He knew how to use Google, he wasn't ancient. Not to mention, his sisters had huge ass posters of Harry's face in their room. It was slightly creepy. But even Louis couldn't deny that Harry was attractive. He wasn't blind. He also couldn't ignore the fact that Harry was just his type, keeping aside the popstar thing. Dark hair, dimples and pretty eyes. It wouldn't be so hard if Harry was a downright asshole. But, no, he just had to turn out to be a nice guy. Basically, Louis was fucked. And not in a good way, either. He was definitely attracted to a guy way out of his league.

 

 

 

"Hey, Lou, snap out of it." Louis stopped whatever he was doing and looked up. Talia, his fellow colleague chef had an eyebrow raised. Talia was strangely obsessed with shaping her brows. With unusually elongated ones, they looked even more creepy raised up. Louis tried not to let his cringe be visible.

"I'll have you know that I'm perfectly in my zone, thank you very much. What are _you_ doing?"

"You just cracked seven eggs instead of three. Seven. Now we're out of eggs. What is up with you, honestly?"

"I'm-"

"Oh my god, you guys. Harry freaking Styles just came in here!" Louis' head whipped up at that, faster than lightning. Riley, the waitress, looked out of wits and breaths. She put down her tray and Louis noticed that she was shaking.

"I think I'm going to faint." Riley fanned herself. "He's so hot."

Talia started laughing and teasing Riley who was in an argument with another waitress. Both were ready to whip out swords and demand a trial by combat to take Harry Styles' order. Louis couldn't be bothered with them. He, himself, was distracted.

He came. He actually came, Louis thought and smiled to himself. The two girls were still fighting so Louis took the opportunity, removed his toque, grabbed a notepad and went outside before Riley could draw her claws at him. He felt like a thirteen year old girl and was ashamed that he was playing dirty. But oh fucking well.

Louis was never the one to let any opportunity slip from his fingers.

Louis saw his hair first. And it was a beautiful, beautiful mess of curls. It looked extremely soft and Louis felt the urge to run his hands through it.

_Take it down a fucking notch, Louis._

Clutching the notepad tightly, Louis walked towards their table. Harry and Anne were sitting in the corner.

It was Anne's favorite table, Louis remembered. She always liked the tiny pot plants that surrounded it. On her numerous visits to the restaurant, Anne had always chosen that table.

Anne's ever present smile brightened even more when she saw Louis walk towards her table. She waved at him and he waved back. "Hi, Louis! How's it going, darling?" Louis leaned in to kiss her cheek and turned to nod at Harry. Louis froze.

Harry had a plain grey knit jumper on paired with black jeans. He looked different from when Louis saw him this morning, all sleepy and adorably ruffled. Breathe, Louis needed to breathe.

"I see you came." Louis smiled at him.

"Couldn't resist an invitation like that now, could I?

Shit, Harry was flirting. He was fucking flirting with him, Louis knew it. In front of his mother. He really was shameless. Louis had known Anne for quite some months now. He felt extremely awkward even though he did his best to not let his show on his face. Louis pretended like he didn't see the advance at all. Before he could reply and turn it into a joke, Anne spoke up,

"Lou, honey, are you taking our orders? Where's Riley?"

"Um she's.. ahh.. indisposed at the moment, Anne. So what are you guys having? I'd recommend the baked salmon. It's on today's specials. The ravioli's good too." Louis was more comfortable talking about the food. He kept talking and gave them advice on the best dishes on the menu. This was his comfort zone. He was good at this. All the while he kept looking at Anne because looking at Harry for more than ten seconds was hard. Louis was certain he'd forget everything he knew about food if he looked at Harry. He was just too pretty. But Louis was also certain that Harry staring at him the entire time he rattled off Italian dishes.

In the end, Anne ended up ordering a pasta and Harry chose the baked salmon saying he trusted Louis' choice. Louis felt the need to get the hell out of there and take a moment because he Just. Couldn't. Deal. Anymore.

Not to mention, the several dishes he had to prepare quickly to impress a certain popstar.

He was bombarded as soon as he entered the kitchen door.

Riley clutched both of his arms. Her fingernails dug into his biceps and ow. "What is wrong with you?" She demanded frantically.

"Why didn't you let me go? I'm going to murder you in your sleep, Louis!" Louis panicked for a moment. What was he supposed to say without making himself embarrassed? Riley was still standing there with her arms crossed, looking red with anger. Uh oh.

"You were busy arguing with Andrea!" He said, defensively. "Ricky would've fired both of our arses if he saw that we kept a famous person waiting."

"I missed a chance to meet with Harry Styles because of you!" Louis grabbed a pitcher of water and handed it to her. "Here. Take this. Their glasses are empty."

Riley's angry stance relaxed and Louis breathed a sigh of relief. She yanked the pitcher and marched out of the door. But no, Louis wasn't having that. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Some of the water spilled.

"What?" She hissed.

"You're still working, remember that. Do not make a fool of yourself and our restaurant. We have a reputation, Ri." He told her as gently as possible. He was never the one to yell at employees. More so, he had a soft spot of Riley and Talia.

"What do you think I'm going to do, Lou? Fling myself at him? Harry Styles is painfully gay if you didn't know that." With that, she flipped her hair back and strutted out. Huh. That was new information, Louis thought. One which Google and his sisters failed to mention. Louis was still sinking in the new, glorious piece of info he just received when he felt Talia's elbow nudge him in the side and those brows of hers raised freakishly high.

 

 

 

Louis didn't bother going out after that. He was busy preparing the food. Pasta and baked salmon for Anne and Harry's table, a cheeseburger and steak for table 6 and lasagne for table 1. The rest of his colleagues managed the other orders.

He'd only joined the restaurant a couple months ago. Fresh out of uni, he was determined to make it big, be the next Gordon Ramsay. But then life happened. Just like the saying that 'life is what happens when you're busy planning something else'. His uncle Jeff died of a sudden heart attack. He had no wife or children so according to his will, all his assets and properties were to be distributed among Louis and his siblings. Louis received a bungalow in Holmes Chapel. Now Louis had planned to rent out the house and travel a bit, making a name for himself. But just after the death of his uncle, his asshole of a father decided to leave. Louis' mum was left with nothing. So Louis postponed his plans, moved into his uncle's house and got a job at the restaurant. Half of his paycheck went back to home in Doncaster. He'd considered selling the house but Jay wouldn't let him. She played the 'legacy' trump card. They all did. _One day_ , Louis had always thought. When Jay's financial situation would be okay, he'd just leave it all behind and get out of the country. The thought of that bloody scared him sometimes.

Shaking his thoughts, he concentrated on the chopping. The kitchen bustled with activity, waiters and waitresses entering and yelling orders, the whistle of the cooker and the beeping of the oven. Louis basked in it. This place was like home.

The kitchen had a one way glass window. Louis didn't want to admit but he did find himself looking out, eyes searching for Harry's broad back. He could see Anne laughing whole heartedly so Harry must've said something funny. A couple of girls stopped at his table for autographs and signatures and Harry, always the charming one, never once looked irritated or said no.

He felt Talia come and stand beside him. He groaned mentally. She must've noticed him staring out.

"So you've got the hots for Mr. Superstar out there, huh?"

"He's my neighbors son before he's a superstar and no, I do not have any hots for anyone, Talia. Go away." Talia ignored his request.

"Neighbor? Don't ever make the mistake of telling Riley that. She'll permanently move into your house. "

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Talia just smirked at him- the little shit -and walked away precisely the same moment Riley barged in and yelled more orders. She gave Louis the stink eye.

"Ah come on, Riley. You got to meet him. Why are you angry now?"

"I'm not." She didn't look up from the jugs she was refilling with water. Louis gave up. He was in no mood to entertain her tantrums and sour attitude. He loved her with all his heart, he did. She was a great friend but it was best to leave her alone when she was in one of those pissy moods. Quietly, he handed over the pasta and salmon on a tray to Riley and sent her on her way to Harry's table.

 

 

\----

 

 

 

Harry was having a great time. He really was. He'd missed his mum, he'd missed Holmes Chapel and the simplicity of it. Sure, there had been some fans stopping at his table but they were pretty chill and nice. A nice change from the ones who usually screamed in his ears when he was trying to just _talk_ to them. His mum looked very happy as well.

Harry worried about Anne 365 days out of a year, which was basically- everyday. Harry was a worrier. He liked to worry. So that's what he did- worry about his mum who lived all alone in a huge house in a village in Cheshire with a stupid cat (don't even get him started on how he hated that sly creature), worry about Gemma who was now working her butt off at a law firm in London and ,lastly, worry about Niall, his best friend and head of his PR team. He was a smart guy, very careful while dealing with others. But in matters concerning his own self, he was extremely careless. That's what Harry worried about. He wasn't that close to the rest of his friends. Half of them were in it for fame and Twitter followers anyway.

But right now, he tried to shove all that in the back of his mind. Niall was back home with his parents in Ireland, Gemma due home soon, which Harry was pretty stoked about and his mum sitting right in front of him, smiling and on her third glass of Chardonnay. Things were fine, yeah.

However, another thing that was fine as fuck was the cute chef who had made the mind blowing salmon for Harry. _Louis Tomlinson_. Harry was pretty conflicted about making a move. He was definitely attracted to Louis. But, Harry was only here for 2 months. He wasn't looking for anything serious. The last thing he wanted was to get attached to someone and make things complicated. A great shag (or many depending on his luck) would be ideal. Harry willed himself to not become too hopeful because there was always the question of Louis Tomlinson's sexuality. Or making things awkward for him mum because she would always be neighbors with him and Harry would leave after two months. He knew he was overthinking this, he'd only met the guy this morning for God's sake.

For now, Harry concentrated on having a good time with his mother, catching up on things.

"I think I've had too much. Do you want to go for a walk in the park after desert, mum?" Harry asked. He felt too full.

Anne agreed. They paid for dinner, Harry noticed the overly generous tip Anne left and started for the door.

Yeah, a walk did sound appealing.

Anne made Harry wait outside the restaurant because she forgot her purse inside. _Wine_ , Harry thought chuckling to himself. He occupied himself with his phone. He had no messages from Niall or any of his friends. Just 125 work related emails. Harry didn't bother opening them. They could wait. This was his time off anyway. Whatever. He opened the Twitter app. He rarely used it but it came handy sometimes. He was scrolling through his mentions, laughing at the numerous ' _marry me_ ' tweets and the usual incomprehensible _jdgfskgfjfajmgsjm_ when he saw Louis - Louis Tomlinson - walking out with his head down, work clothes in hand. He stopped to interact briefly with the guard standing at the door. Before he could think too much he made his way over to him.

"That was a great salmon." Harry smiled. Ofcourse, Louis smiled. Harry felt his heart hurt.

"Really? Thanks, love." Harry practically keened at that. Anne chose that moment to walk out, bringing along with her the warm air from inside. Harry tightened his coat around himself. It was really cold.

"Louis, hey! Going home?" She hugged him sideways.

"Yup. Shift just got over. Liked the food?"

"Always." She beamed. "Lou, darling, Harry wanted to go for a walk but now I think I have a migraine," she rubbed her forehead for emphasis, "Would you mind accompanying him? He's been home after so long and I'd feel _terrible_ if he had to go alone." Harry mentally groaned. _What was mum doing?_

Harry felt like he was in elementary school all over again. God, this was embarrassing.

Anne was still smiling widely and definitely not looking like she had a 'migraine'. Harry made a mental note to talk to her later.

It wasn't that Harry didn't want to go with Louis Tomlinson, because he did. He really did. He wanted to go all the way with him, if you know what that means. But he didn't want to make him feel like he had to because of Anne.

Well, it's already done. Might as well make the most of it, Harry thought.

He buried his hands in his pockets and smiled at Louis. "Lead the way."


	2. Chapter 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the overwhelming response. 
> 
> Thanks to Ro, one of my betas. He is a rockstar.
> 
> PS - There's a Hannah Montana reference somewhere. FIND IT. ;)

Louis neatly folded his work clothes and stuffed them into his tiny backpack which had ' _Westside_ ' stitched across the front. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a white shirt and his Vans were blue, very much like his eyes. Harry was intrigued.

The air was nippy and the street lamps glowed. There weren't many people around owing to the fact that it was pretty late, plus Holmes Chapel was a sleepy, quiet village. Louis was walking beside him and Harry had to tilt his head down to look at Louis, he was _that tiny_. Harry found it endearing.

No one spoke for a while so Harry decided to start the conversation.

"So-"

"So" They both said at the same time.

Louis chuckled. "You first." He said.

Harry didn't argue. " _So._ How long have you been working here?"

"Eeh, couple months. I'm from Donny, meself."

"How'd you end up here?"

"Heeeey. It's my turn, you curious bugger." Harry stifled a laugh.

"I didn't know we were keeping turns but sure, go on."

"Well, um, do you cook?" Louis didn't know anything else beside cooking okay? He felt like an utter fool.

"What?"

"I'm sor-"

"Yes, actually I do. Used to be a baker before a musician" Harry laughed.

"You're weird." Harry said.

"I'd apologize but I take pride in it, Harold. I looked for Effective Conversation with Popstars For Dummies but they ran out of stock."

"M'names not Harold."

"Ofcourse you would choose that one to answer."

"Didn't think you'd be a sassy one beneath that innocent face.''

"Oh please. I'm five foot nine God.''

"So charming."

"Oh look the park's here," Louis pointed out.

They both crossed the street and entered the little park. There was a walking trail for joggers and small rides like the swings and slides were surrounding it.

Harry remembered coming here along with Gemma and his mum. Ofcourse, it wasn't that advanced before but the place still held the same vibe. Harry smiled to himself at the memories.

"Something funny?" Louis remarked.

He was a feisty little thing, Harry decided.

"Nah, it's been a long time since I came here. Used to come here as a child with me mum and sister."

Louis didn't say anything so Harry continued. "You see that swing? Well, they've replaced it now but years ago one of the pair was broken. Gemma and I used to fight over who'd get the first chance over the only swing. Mum used to toss a coin to decide."

Harry felt Louis smile beside him.

The park was deserted, only the streetlamps lighting up the trail. It somehow felt intimate. Louis suddenly stopped walking and changed course. He grabbed Harry's hand- and _okay, wow_ , Harry felt his heart stop and start again- and lead him off the trail and towards the rides.

"Come on," Louis said. "Lets go sit on the swings."

But Harry wasn't listening, too busy staring at Louis's hand in his. Louis had tiny hands. Seriously, everything about him was so tiny. Harry's hand looked ginormous enveloped in Louis'. Louis was muttering something else about wet grass but Harry was still not over the warmth of Louis's hands and how perfectly his hand slotted against his own.

_Get a grip. You're not a 13 year old schoolgirl, Harry._

Louis dropped his hand when they reached the swings and sat on one of them, rocking it slightly. Harry wanted to pout, his hand was cold again. But he held himself back and sat on the swing beside Louis'.

 _What the fuck is wrong with me_ , Louis thought to himself as he played with his hands. _Holding his hands, seriously_? Louis felt like he had crossed a line but no matter how much he tried, he was just not able to regret it because it had felt nice. And comforting. Harry was quiet beside him and Louis felt stressed about his previous actions. So he lit up a cigarette. Louis only allowed himself 3 per day. And this was definitely one of those moments when he needed a smoke. He hoped Harry didn't mind. As soon as he exhaled the smoke, he felt his shoulders relax and his body loosen. He quickly took a few more drags and crushed the remaining stub on the ground. Harry was quiet the whole time.

"Did you know that my girlfriend died of lung cancer?" Harry asked.

And shit, shit, _shit_. Louis felt his eyes widen. He was such an idiot.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry, Harry. I d-didn't know." Louis blurted, red in the face.

And that's when Harry clutched his thighs and burst out laughing. It sounded so beautiful. Reminded Louis or church organs.

"Your face..." Harry managed to speak in between laughs.

Louis was confused for a moment before he realized that Harry was shitting him.

That was so uncalled for. Louis punched his arm lightly. "Arsehole. I felt so bad."

Harry was still laughing, soft sounds echoing in the quiet night.

"I never even had a girlfriend, mate. Your face was hilarious, God."

And then Louis felt like punching himself. Riley just told him that Harry Styles was gay a couple hours ago. How could he forget that? _Am I really that gullible?_ He felt stupid, if anything.

Great, now Harry will think that he was dumb. Great.

"Oh you just wait. You're so going to pay for this." Harry's shit eating grin just grew wider and his eyes twinkled. _Jesus_ , Louis thought. _Look away, look away, look away..._

"Come on, let's get back on the trail. I feel like I'm going to explode. I ate too much, I think." Harry said, while running his hand through his long hair.

Obviously, long wasn't the adjective Louis would use to describe his hair. Phrases like 'luscious curls', 'chocolate mess of hair' and more cringe-worthy things popped up in his head but he shoved them back down. He'd embarrassed himself enough for one night, thank you very much.

They both trudged back to the trail. Louis shivered because his white shirt was quiet thin and he didn't have a jacket. Unconsciously, he moved towards Harry chasing warmth who looked really toasty in his long black overcoat.

It looked big enough. Maybe Louis could fit into it. It didn't take long for Harry to realize that Louis was cold.

"Hey, are you co-" Harry was interrupted by marimba blaring from his iPhone. Louis shrugged and gestured him to take the call.

Harry smiled apologetically and pressed the green button, "Niall."

Louis wondered who was calling him this late. Maybe this Nigel guy was his boyfriend.

They kept on walking. "Niall, are you drunk?"

Hmmm maybe he was an ex, drunk dialing Harry.

"No, I do not care if you're craving strudel. Just go home, Niall." Harry sounded exasperated. "Please." He added a few moments later.

Harry disconnected the call and pocketed the phone. It didn't even fit completely in his pocket, it was that huge.

_Rich people._

It was hard to remember that Harry was a huge celebrity. Louis had only met Harry this morning but it didn't feel that way. Harry didn't talk once or acted like a diva. He was humble, if anything else.

"My best mate, Niall. He's Irish. Always needs an excuse to get pissed." Harry said, by way of explanation.

Louis just nodded. He wasn't relieved. He totally wasn't okay?

They kept walking but stopped beside the little pond because Harry wanted to take pictures with his huge ass phone.

"Instagram." Harry had explained. Louis had rolled his eyes.

How Harry managed to take a picture in the dark was beyond him. Flash sucked.

Louis rolled his eyes even more when Harry uploaded the picture, adding too many filters and an unnecessarily vague caption. Louis noticed the thousands of likes he received as soon as he uploaded but chose not to comment.

"You are a 13 year old girl in the body of a 22 year old, Harry. Seriously."

"It is what it is." Harry winked cheekily.

Louis felt all shades of warm inside. _The ink on his chest._

 

 

Sometime around half past midnight they reached home. Harry buried his hands in the coat and kicked at imaginary stones on the ground.

This was not a date, for God's sake. I need to chill.

Louis was rubbing his palms together and blowing air into them. Harry wanted to offer his jacket in the park before because he wasn't that cold anyway. But that would have been awkward. Louis would've stared at him like he'd grown another head.

They both stood in front of the wall separating Anne's house from Louis'.

Harry hoped he'd get to see Louis again. Of course he'd see him. They were neighbors. But Harry hoped for maybe a...different environment?

Harry was definitely intrigued by Louis Tomlinson, despite the fact that they met just a few hours ago. But, hey, Louis had a strong personality. He had good vibes. Harry would definitely like to get to know him more. Even if it meant in the friend-zone.

Harry  _strongly_  hoped that it didn't go there.

Precisely why he wanted to exchange numbers. Now, he couldn't give out his number. Past and unpleasant experiences had taught Harry to give out his number only to the closest circle. He'd learnt very well in media training how his number could be used against him. Harry was pretty sure that Louis Tomlinson wasn't that sort of a person but he didn't want to take any risks. That is exactly why Harry decided to be casual about it.

"Well, this was fun." He commented.

"Yeah... Nice meeting you. You turned out to be the exact opposite of what I'd imagined," Louis said, smiling. His caramel hair looked really soft under the moonlight and Harry desperately wanted to touch it and maybe run his fingers through it if Louis would let him.

But what Harry wanted and what he should do were two separate things. Because Louis was about to turn into a Popsicle with the way he was shivering and Harry needed to let him go so Louis could go inside and warm up.

"You expected a snobby popstar." Harry stated.

"Yup." Even the way Louis popped the 'p' was adorable. And his lips, Jesus.  _Don't think about it, don't think about it..._

"Well then how would you describe me?" Harry smiled cheekily. Just a few more minutes then he'd say goodbye, Harry swore to himself.

"You're a charming nut. I see the appeal now." Louis said without hesitation.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Let me rephrase. You're a charming twat who digs for compliments."

"I get that a lot. You should go inside. You look like you'll turn into ice any second now."

"Yes, I need a hot bath. Like now."

Harry saw the opportunity and he took it.

"And if you don't catch hypothermia, ring me. We could… err... do something. My sister will come in a week. So, like, I'll be bored alone in the, umm, house. So yeah..." Harry felt betrayed by his own mouth. He was going for casual, not  _desperate._

Louis didn't say anything except for a small smile and a 'Sure' and he went inside.

 

\------

 

 

 

There was something on Louis' face. Something poking him on the nose. Sleepily, Louis swatted the fly away. It came back again on his nose.

"Blergh, go away." He mumbled sleepily and buried his face under the duvet. The poking continued. Honestly, he was going to go  _bonkers_. He burrito-ed himself further in the duvet hoping whatever God forsaken creature it was that was interrupting his wonderful sleep would fuck off. One simply does not mess with his sleep. He valued sleep more than anything else in the world.

Suddenly, the covers were harshly yanked away from his body. Louis shrieked.

"What the fuck!" He folded into himself, shivering and teeth chattering.

"You're late for work, mister." Talia stood there, perfectly dressed with a tray of two to go coffees. Holy shit, Louis thought and jumped from his bed. His boss would kill him.

Louis glanced at the bedside clock which said 8:05 am. Honestly, he was going to choke the life out of Talia.  _How dare she_. Louis' shift didn't start before 9:30. He could've slept blissfully for another 45 minutes.

"What in the world is wrong with you, Tal?!"

"You wouldn't wake up any other way!" Louis wasn't a morning person. He hadn't had his tea and he was being made to deal with Talia and her stupidly done brows.

"Talia. Why did you wake me u-  _aaaachhooo_ " Louis sneezed.

Talia made a face of disgust but offered him a tissue nonetheless.

"Did you go to sleep with wet hair, again? How many times do I have to tell you to not do that?"

"I'm going back to sleep. Go away." He climbed back on to his warm, warm bed and it felt like heaven. He knew Talia wasn't going to go away. Sometimes, he referred to her as Tenacious Talia in his head.

"All this nonsense aside, there is actually a reason why I'm here with a peace offering." She gestured towards to the coffees.

Louis mentally scoffed. He never drank coffee. He was absurdly a tea person.

"I needed you to go grocery shopping for me. I'm going to London for two days. And the restaurant needs to be stocked up on a lot of things. But you don't look that well yourself. I'll go to Riley's."

"London? Why?"

"You remember Marian? My best mate? She had a baby. I'm going to go visit." Louis remembered a Marian from last year when she came to visit Talia.

"Well have a safe trip, love. Now fuck off so I can sleep. I could use 30 minutes of extra sleep before work."

"No, mister. None of that. You're sick and you're staying home and there's nothing you can do about that." Louis opened his mouth to argue but he was cut short.

"Don't even try, Lou. I'll see myself out and call in sick for you. Stay home. Rest. Watch Netflix. You're allowed to do that, you know?"

"Yes, mom." Louis mumbled sarcastically. Talia went towards his bed and kissed his cheek.

"Now that's a good boy. Take care, love. See ya in a few days."

As soon as Talia left, Louis dozed off for a couple more hours. He woke up and made bacon for breakfast and ate it in his backyard. It wasn't much. Just a small patch of grass and few plants here and there. But Louis liked it. The walls were covered with ivy and thick vines but the wall was tall so he could do whatever he wanted without any invasion of privacy.

Except for when Anne's pet cat, Dusty, randomly decided to pay him a visit. Since Talia called in for him at work, he had nothing to do. Obviously, he could knock on the next door and maybe Harry Styles would open it but he didn't want to look even weirder than he already had.

Harry probably had many 'famous person' things to do like photoshoots and looking pretty and whatever it is celebrities do.  _Whatever._

 

Last night was  _intense_. Louis had never met anyone in his life with whom he could feel and instant connection. There was electricity, for God's sake. His heart was racing 80% of the time last night and he was still yet to figure out if the goosebumps were from the cold or the fact that he held Harry's hands for 30 seconds straight.

About that, what the hell was he thinking? Calling him 'love' and holding his hand. Louis seriously needed to get his shit together. He'd been out of the dating scene for some time now. He didn't know how things worked.

Louis shrugged off the overwhelming thoughts and decided to leave everything to fate. He had a day off and he was going to make the most of it.

Louis grabbed his duvet from the bed and made his way over to the French glass doors that overlooked the tiny backyard. It was also his favourite spot in the house. Next came his hardcover copy of  _The Art Of Simple Food_  and a mug of warm chamomile tea.

' _Chamomile_. Good for a cold,' his Gran always used to say.

Louis spent the next few hours reading and drinking tea. Occasionally, he took a break to get tissues because his nose wouldn't stop running bloody marathons. He didn't like to take pills but he was feeling shittier and shittier so he gave in and took some. The medicines made him feel woozy and he was about to fall asleep right on the floor on his book when the doorbell rang.

Louis guessed it was Riley stopping by to drop some chicken soup or whatever sick people are supposed to have. Talia probably put her up to it. Idiots, those two. Louis was very fond of them.

He started walking towards the door when Riley rang the doorbell again.  _Sigh._

"Riley, I'm coming! Stop ringing that thi--- _oh._ " Louis paused mid-sentence when he saw the person that was definitely not Riley stood awkwardly on his porch.

"You're not Riley." Louis stated as a matter of fact.

 

Good lord, the medicines were kicking in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave Kudos if you liked it and let me know your thoughts below, I'm always open to constructive criticism bla bla bla..
> 
>  


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so disgustingly domestic. Pls don't throw tomatoes at me. 
> 
>  
> 
> A huge thanks to my amazing beta, Ro. Couldn't have possibly done this without him. He's the bestest.

“"Afraid not. Sorry to disappoint though."

Louis yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was so sleepy. "What are you doing here, Harry?"

"Well, um, hi. Mum sent me. The mailman must have mixed up the addresses. These are your, umm, letters."

Louis took them and yes, they were his. 2 letters from Donny and a magazine subscription to a food magazine.

"Well, thanks." Louis smiled trying not to let his drooping eyes show.

"It's no problem at all. I had nothing to do anyway. Are you alright, Louis? You look a bit...not alright?" For someone so popular and a public figure, Louis expected Harry to be at least eloquent but this curly haired boy, _or rather man_ , kept surprising him every time they met. This time though, Harry was wearing a jaunty yellow shirt which looked like it was... satin material? The top few buttons were undone and _whoa.._

"I'm fine. Just a cold. No biggie."

"I'm sorry. I bet you caught it because of that walk last night and you weren't even wearing a jacke-"

"Hey hey hey. Stop. It's not your fault.'' ( ** _Off the record, I was listening to Tay Swift while writing this part. Shake it off, shake it offffff)_**

Louis realized that Harry was still standing on his porch and Louis hadn't even invited him in and that was simply _rude_ and unacceptable and honestly _where did his manners go?_

"You want to come inside? I was making tea.."

 

\----

 

Harry felt like an absolute _idiot._ Here he was, standing on Louis' porch looking pathetic and needy. Louis definitely must be creeped out by now. Harry thought he should probably leave. Louis looked tired and sleepy. He was about to do just that when Louis invited him inside for tea. Harry knew he should say no and let Louis rest. But his logical reasoning had gone to hell anyway since he found Blue Eyes sitting in his mum's kitchen yesterday.

 _Yesterday, holy shit._ He met Louis only 24 hours ago yet it did feel like much longer. After years, Harry felt like he was a normal person. It was hard to describe… Harry knew Louis only for this small amount of hours yet he could feel as if he could trust Louis completely. As if he could let his walls down and trust him that he wouldn't go babbling to the media or stomp over his heart. One of the lessons life had taught him in the past five rollercoaster years was that you _always_ had to go with your gut. If it felt right, you go with it. And if his gut said that Louis was to be trusted, then Harry was okay with wearing his heart on his sleeve.

"What are you still doing out there, mate? Come on in. It's fucking freezing."

"Personifying my gut," Harry mumbled under his breath but walked in. The house was small but cozy. The walls were an off white colour and Louis had taped a lot of pictures of little girls on them. The sofa was not too shabby and was seated across a flatscreen television. Beyond that were glass french doors which opened to a very tiny garden. There were 3  mugs, a book and a duvet lying near the french doors looking very much impressioned with a warm body. The house wasn't much. It was very small.

Harry absolutely _adored_ it.

"I'm sorry it's a bit messy but I'm a messy person. Can't be bothered to clean up, nasty habit that. I'm sure you have seen, like, much better."

Louis fumbled around a bit, picking up T shirts and boxers from everywhere. Harry chuckled. He saw a few books lying on the centre table and noticed that all of them were books about food- History, recipes, food arts...

He was intrigued. "So you're really into this stuff, huh?" Harry asked picking up a recipe book which boasted authentic Turkish dishes.

Louis stopped with a huge pile of dirty clothes in his hand and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess. Cooking is a passion, you could say... Its what I've always wanted to do." And he disappeared into the hallway with the clothes.

When Louis came back, Harry was studying the pictures on the wall.

"Make yourself home, yeah? I'll get the tea."

"No, absolutely not. You're sick. Why don't you sit down and relax and I'll make us tea?"

"It's alright, Harry. I can do it. It's just a cold."

"I insist."

"Okay..If you must. Do you even know how to make tea? Aren't there, like, people who do it for you?"

Harry laughed. "I wasn't born into fame, Louis. Had to work for it. Also, I live alone in my flat and I don't have a 24 hour cook."

"But you _do_ have a cook, innit?"

"Yes, Louis, I do. Where do you keep your tea?" Harry asked walking into the kitchen.

"It's in the cabinet over there. Above the sink."

Harry made himself busy with making two cuppas while Louis grabbed the duvet off the floor and cuddled up in it on the sofa while repeatedly sneezing in the tissue.

"You sure you don't think you should see a doc? Maybe get some antibiotics?"

"Just get over here with the damn tea, Harry. I'm fine."

And Harry did just that.

 

"You know, Louis," Harry said handing Louis his mug (It had cartoon of a dinosaur and 'Tea-Rex' written on it. It was Louis' favourite.) and perching on the opposite end of the couch with his own cuppa, "Before I went to audition for the X Factor and my life, like, totally changed I used to cook all the time with mum..."

Harry looked lost in thought. Louis nodded at him, gesturing to continue.

"Obviously, I'm not brilliant like you but I was okay... I could make mean fajitas." Harry was looking down, staring at his hands. Now, he had people who did it for him. Occasionally, he did take out time to cook for himself- maybe invite a few mates over but it seemed like too much of a hassle. Going to the grocery store to get supplies without being papped or mobbed was becoming increasingly difficult. Harry hated to complain but he learnt that you can't always be nice and polite.

He, entirely, stopped cooking 2 years after the X Factor. His life got way too busy. Sometimes, he missed the little things of life. He craved normalcy. He missed changing his own sheets and doing his own laundry… Okay maybe he didn't miss those parts. But he never admitted it out loud or even to himself because what kind of a despicable, ungrateful human would that make him?

He told Louis all that. In the midst, Harry grew self conscious. He was just chattering away and maybe boring Louis. Maybe Louis thought he was a bratty popstar. Harry, out of nowhere, had knocked on his door probably looking desperate and now he was definitely overstaying his welcome.

 Louis just listened quietly, never once interrupting him. Louis' face was impassive. But at least it didn't show scorn or judgement. Harry felt relieved.

After a few moments of silence, Louis placed his mug on the centre table and stood up.

"Come on, Harold. I have an idea. Chop chop."

"What?"

"Ugh, just get up."

Harry stood up and kept his half empty (or half full, whatever) mug on the table beside Louis'.

"I am absolutely starving," Louis rubbed his tummy for emphasis and was being just too adorable, dammit. "And I have everything in here we need to make pasta!"

"You want me to make you pasta?" Harry was still feeling a bit confused.

"Well, not exactly. I don't trust you. You could poison me and-"

"Heeeey."

" _And_ nobody enters my kitchen. Seriously. It must be your lucky day, mate. Come on, we're making it together.'' Louis sang the last part and clapped his hands. It didn't take long for Harry to realize that Louis had on a poker face because inside, he was probably wilting away. Harry noticed the coughs and violent sniffs he was trying to hide. And despite all that, he was still doing this for Harry.

It set Harry's soul on fire. Harry absolutely ignored that.

"Louis. You are sick. You can stop pretending, you know?"

Louis pulled a _I don't know what you're talking about face_ but he was a shit liar. Harry saw right through it.

"Don't pull that face."

"But-"

"No buts."

"You are ill because of me and I won't make you labour away anymore. It's your day off, you're supposed to rest, Lou."

_Lou? Where did that come from?_

Harry again ignored the way Louis's face lit up when he said that. He was getting really pro with this ignoring thing. He gave himself an imaginary pat on the back.

"I'm _fine_ , Harry. We are doing this."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm really craving a pasta.."  Was that a....a pout? Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Harry was so done for. This kept getting harder and harder. Harry decided on that spot that he hated Louis Tomlinson, he absolutely hated him for being an adorable little kitten and, ugh, his stupid smiles and eyes and he wasn't _that_ hot anyway. Harry was hating him, yes. He was such a messy person. And who the fuck read the history of lasagne any-fucking-way?

Harry also wanted to have his babies.

"You're very stubborn." Harry said, sighing.

"I know."

"I'll agree on only one condition."

"Let's hear it."

" _You_ sit on that couch under the covers and _I'll_ do the cooking."

"But that's boring!" Louis whined. "You want me to just sit and watch while you corrupt my kitchen?!"

"Well, you can watch TV or read one of your books? You can also stare at me, I'm not that bad of a scenery." Harry chuckled, cheekily.

"Aren't you full of yourself, Mr. Popstar?"

_I'd rather be full of you..._

Stop stop stop. Harry willed himself to calm down.

_Take a few deep breaths, yes yes. Just like that. Think of Granny and remember when Granddad called her babe. Yes, it's okay._

Harry only had to use that pep talk in extreme situations. The last time he used it was when he met Ashton Kutcher at the Billboard Awards. That would've been one awkward boner to explain in his acceptance speech.. The media would've had a field day.

Louis was staring at him weirdly and Harry realized that he had completely blanked out.

"You alright?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry ran a hand through his hair and, was it getting hot in here or was it just him?

"Then what are you waiting for? I only met you yesterday and you banished me from my own kitchen and this-" Louis pointed his finger towards his stomach, "-won't fill itself up."

Harry managed to give him a dopey smile. Louis retreated into the covers and yawned. "Come on, _popstar_. Start cooking."

After much mental debate, Harry decided to go for a classic spaghetti carbonara. That was pretty easy, just plenty of egg and Parmesan cheese. Rich and delicious. He set to work immediately. Louis, occasionally commented, telling him where the whisker was or the eggs (they were obviously in the fridge, duh. Harry wasn't stupid).

Harry liked this, _this-_ the normalcy of this. Like how Louis was treating him just like another human being, how Louis wasn't walking on eggshells around him similar to how people usually do. It was nice, just him and Louis. No paps or media people or anyone else always trying to get something out of him.

Heck it wasn't nice, it was absolutely lovely. Harry was revelling in it. He didn't even know where his phone was and surprisingly, he couldn't bring himself to care.

It wasn't silent at all. Louis was a very noisy person, Harry deduced. He moved around on the sofa noisily, kept drumming his fingers on the table or just somehow kept fidgeting. One time Harry even caught him humming to himself.

The conversation flowed as well. When Harry wasn't asking Louis what music he liked, Louis was teaching him the right way to cut tomatoes.

"No no, Harry. Not like that. Slide the knife vertically and cut it into slices then trap them like this, " Louis demonstrated trapping the tomato between his index finger and thumb,"Then turn it around and cut it horizontally. That way, you get really small, fine cubes."

Harry didn't bother to mention the electric vegetable cutter he used at home.

After his little demo, Louis returned back to his nest and Harry resumed his cooking. He was slightly nervous. He was cooking after _years._ It could turn out terrible, for all he knew.

Harry pushed the thought away and focused on chopping the fruits for the salad. Slowly and carefully, he did his finishing touches and called for Louis.

He wasn't graced with a reply. He went out to investigate and there he was, sleeping blissfully on the couch with his mouth wide open. Harry chuckled at the sight. So Louis was one of _those_ sleepers...

As much as Harry hated to wake him up, the food was getting cold and he was looking forward to impress Louis. Maybe prove that he wasn't just a pretty face and that there was much more to him.

"Louis?" Harry shook his shoulders gently.

"Lou, wake up. The food's getting cold." Harry murmured. He was crouching on his feet, eye level with Louis.

It would be so easy to just lean forward a bit and kiss him..

Harry's heart was going off again. _Ha, maybe that would wake him up..._

"Lou?" Harry tried once again.

Louis just muttered something incoherent and fell back asleep. Harry gave up.

Harry had cooked more than enough for two so he finished half, relieved that the salt was just right. He put the rest away in the fridge for Louis to eat when he woke up.

Glancing at the clock Harry realized that far too much time had passed away. It was already 5 and he had promised his mum ice-cream and a long drive at 5:30.

Before seeing himself out quietly, Harry left a post-it note he found beside the TV on Louis' forehead.

 

\----

 

 

When Louis woke up, the first thing he saw was the ancient little chandelier hung on the roof of his living room and not the sky blue ceiling of his bedroom he was usually accustomed to (except for when Louis fell asleep on the couch watching Disney Movies and had too much wine.)

It took a few seconds- Louis was a slow one - but he remembered Harry coming in with... his mail? And something about pasta and _what time was it, Jesus._

Louis scrambled up and went in the kitchen where he kept a small clock. It read 11:30pm.

How long was he dozing for exactly? He didn't even check his phone since morning!

Louis roamed around the house for a while feeling a bit disoriented. He decided to wash his face, feel like a human again and maybe order something in. He was famished. Louis kept wondering if Harry actually made the pasta or not. There were utensils lined beside the sink, completely washed and dried. The kitchen was squeaky clean.

Surely, popstars didn't know how to do dishes?

Louis went to the toilets first and in the mirror he- wait _what?_

There was a post- it stuck to his forehead, nearing his hairline. Louis yanked it off. It said,

_'I tried waking you up. There's pasta in the fridge. xxx H.'_

Huh. Louis noticed there was something scribbled off between the kisses (Louis was freaking out about that but it could wait) and his signature. Louis couldn't make it out but whatever it was, it began with 'All the..'

_All the what?_

Harry was a weird bloke. Louis threw the post-it away and washed his face. He felt like a sane human again.

Louis decided to eat his dinner while catching up with some good old Game Of Thrones. While the intro music played in the background, Louis heated the pasta and grabbed a can of beer to go with it. The pasta definitely smelled good. Louis couldn't help the goofy smile. Maybe he should thank Harry. Harry was nothing if chivalrous.

The episode wasn't even halfway over and Louis had licked the bowl clean. It was pretty good. Ugh who was he kidding, he loved it. He decided to go over Anne's tomorrow and ...thank him? Louis wasn't sure what he was going to do but he was totally seeing Harry tomorrow.

After the episode was over, Louis was bored. He had nothing to do. He checked his phone which entailed 2 missed calls from Lottie and few random texts from Talia and a link to a Sugarscape article about Harry from Riley. This was a thing with Riley. She was heavily into pop culture and tried to get Louis interested all the time but he was never the one to give in so easily. He never really bothered to read the stuff she sent him and why would he? Who cared if Big Sean and some tiny adolescent called Ariana broke up?

Louis felt guilty but he rationalized it with wanting to know whether Harry really poisoned him or not. A guy's gotta know okay?

The article wasn't much. Just talked about Harry spending 2 months in his hometown and how they hoped that he'd post cute Christmas selfies with his mom or maybe do a Christmas cover. Louis closed it and fired up Google. He had googled him once before but didn't read much.

Louis typed Harry's name in and was about to hit search when -

_Cinderella did not Google Prince Charming._

He remembered the quote from one of the shows he used to watch with Lottie. It kinda made sense so he locked his phone with the very limited knowledge of- Harry Edward Styles, born February 1st in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. Auditioned for the X factor when 16 years of age, won a lot of awards, huge fanbase blah blah blah.

Harry was here for 2 months. He could tell Louis himself.

See? Louis could be a smart person. He was so good at being adult. Ish.

Louis didn't google Harry but he ended up downloading his albums, all of them. And even some of his very first EPs. Louis didn't buy them. He was a poor bloke who was just trying to help his mum okay. Louis giggled to himself. Harry was plenty rich. It was obvious from Anne's house and her cars and clothes. He could do without a few pounds. While he waited for the albums to download, he opened twitter.

Obviously, Riley had forced him to make one. Louis wasn't very active on it. He followed his friends and a few food art and easy recipes accounts. His follower count was, like, 16? Or was that the number of his tweets? It had been a long time since he had used this thing.

Suddenly, he had an idea. The odds of that working out were pretty slim and Louis had nothing to lose anyway. Except his dignity if Harry didn't reply.

He clicked on the 'New tweet' button and typed,

_'@Harry_Styles that was a good pasta.xx'_

He was a bit unsure with the x's but _Harry_ did it before. He clicked on Harry's username which led him over to his profile and _holy mother of God_ , 59 million followers....?

Louis was dumbfounded. He couldn't even imagine that many people in his head...

Most of Harry's tweets were cryptic, vague ones talking about coins or chocolate or God knows what. Louis followed him. His phone was already flashing low battery signs so he closed the app and plugged his phone in.

 

He checked his laptop and most of the songs were downloaded. He clicked on one song called 'Strong'

**_My hands, your hands tied up like two ships,_ **

**_Drifting. Weightless. Waves try to break it._ **

**_I'd do anything to save it._ **

**_Why is it so hard to save it?_ **

Louis listened to the rest of the song in an utter trance because that shit was _beautiful_. Harry's voice was so... velvety. He was really really good at that. He perfected all the riffs and high notes and bleh, Louis didn't know much about music technicality but it was really really good. He listened to a few more songs like Moments, 18, Last First Kiss, Through The Dark etc.

He slept through most of the day so he wasn't sleepy at all. Plus, his next shift didn't begin before 5 PM. He was free to do what he wanted so he looked up some live performances of Harry on Youtube.

Louis was amazed as he sifted through some grainy concert videos taken by fans and BBC live lounge covers and some more. He was even a better live performer with his cheeky dance moves, stage presence and just...his charming prowess.

Louis really, really, _really_ saw the appeal now. No wonder 59 million people adored him.

He spent a few more hours listening to his songs. Before sleeping, he texted Lottie.

_'No wonder you adore that Harry Styles bloke so much. He's a cheeky one ;)'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate it if you share your thoughts in the comments below, I'm always up for a chat. And if you like it maybe leave a kudos? 
> 
> *goes back to watching Larry videos*


	4. 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have noticed, I do a lot of POV changes. I like it when I can see a story from both sides so maybe you'll too? No? Okay. Oops. (Hi) 
> 
>    
> As always, thanks to my amazing beta, Ro. Who puts up with my frustrating emails and rants and helps me when I feel like banging my head on my laptop. He's, like, an awesomesaucey unicorn. Check out his works. @pikachuinmyveins.

Before leaving for England for his two months break, Harry had decided that he would keep everything that was work, aside and chill with his family and just relax. He swore to himself that he wouldn't check any of his e-mails, pick up any call from anyone that wasn't family or friends. Niall always called him a hustler. Even though he kicked Niall pretty often, it was true in a way. Sort of.

Harry loved to work, even when it wasn't always grabbing a microphone and belting a few notes. He liked working for charities, liked sitting for hours at once signing posters, liked working on his new line of men’s shirts with Armani, liked doing everything that he did and everything his PA could squeeze in his schedule. Harry liked to take part in everything and be involved in every little detail that shaped his personality in front of the public and himself. He hated the idea of some management company making his choices for him.

Although, Harry wasn't always all work and no play. He'd taken five days off from work and flown to Mauritius by himself last year. He rarely left his hotel room. Slept in all day and when he wasn't sleeping or lying on his private beach, he was watching random TV shows and enjoying the blessing that was room service.

Harry had come back to LA to some headlines talking about him having organised at orgy in Mauritius. It was super ridiculous. Even more ridiculous than the story that he had impregnated three women at the same time.

His sudden idea to stay with his mum for November and December had surprised his management team. He usually stayed in his LA home and threw wild Christmas parties. He, himself, didn't know what made him want to go home. This year was a tough one and maybe, just maybe Harry had overworked himself. Harry spent his last Christmas break creating his third official fragrance and working with a NGO based in Nigeria.

To sum it all up, Harry had forgotten what it was like to have extended periods of idle time.

He was mind numbingly bored. His UK tour was set to begin in February and Harry was to start his rehearsals from January. He could work on that now but his choreographer and vocal coach had the months off too.

Harry stretched his legs on his bed and yawned. His legs didn't even fit on the bed.

_What to do, what to do..._

It's not like Holmes Chapel offered many recreational activities. His old friends from Holmes Chapel had moved on and made lives for themselves in other places and he felt like he didn't know anyone. Suddenly, spending two months didn't seem like such a good idea…

Harry was interrupted from his thoughts when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in."

"Harry, you alright?" His mum asked. She was wearing an apron which said _Super Mom_ in Thai. Harry had sent it to her from when he was filming a music video in Thailand.

"Yeah...I just feel weird. Not having to do anything and all." He said sheepishly.

"Aw honey, Gemma will be here in a few days and then you won't feel so lonely anymore."

That made Harry feel like a twelve year old.

"You needed something?"

"Louis is here asking for you," Harry could see the faintest of a smirk on his mother's face, "He's downstairs in the living room. Want me to send him up?"

Louis? What was he doing here?

"What?"

"Louis is here-"

"Yeah mom I got that but _why?"_

"How would I know?"

"I don't know, didn't he say something?"

"Harry, dear, you're blushing."

"Mom."

"You're keeping him waiting. That's rude."

"What are you doing, mum?"

"Well, I was trying out that recipe for-"

" _No, mum."_ Harry whispered sharply. He didn't know why he was whispering, Louis was downstairs it's not like he could hear him. "I knew you didn't had a migraine the other night."

"But-"

"No matchmaker business, okay?"

"But you _like_ him!"

"I do not like Louis that way and that's the end of this conversation."

Harry knew his mum. He never got the last word. It was worth a try anyway.

"You can't even say his name without blushing!"

"I do not blush!"

"Then say it. Say his name."

Harry glared at her and she glared right back.

" _Louis_." He said, sharply. And Harry knew he had lost the argument because his cheeks did indeed feel bloody warm. Anne was beaming with triumph.

"I just can't wait till Gemma gets back. It's going to be so much fun." Harry suddenly didn't look forward to seeing his sister in a few days. He knew that him mum and sister would team up against him and well, that was never fun.

"Please, _mother_. Stop."

"Harry you haven't been with anyone else for years now, honey." Anne said sympathetically. "You work so much and I don't want you to be alone, you know?"

"I know, mum. I'm fine."

"Is everything alright here?" A very shy looking Louis said, peeking his head from the corridor.

"Of course, Lou. Come on in." Anne smiled at him.

"I'm sorry I should've kept waiting, I thought I heard someone call me?"

"Oh no. We were just coming down..."

Louis turned towards Harry. "Hey Harry." He smiled that crinkly smile, the one Harry had grown fond of in the past two days. Louis was wearing a dark red sweater paired with simple blue jeans and a grey beanie. His feathery fringe fell out of the beanie and on his forehead. Louis' nose was red from the cold. _Stop staring._

"Oh hi, Lou. How are you now?"

"Better, thanks."

"You got my post-it note?"

"Actually-" Louis started but Anne caught the gist of the conversation and started fretting over Louis. She gave him a lecture about how he should've told her that he was sick instead of cooping up in the house all alone and sometime during that lecture Harry got roped in too for not mentioning it and being irresponsible.

They both hung their head down in shame as if they had done something they shouldn't have. Anne made Louis promise to tell her if something like that happened ever again and Louis hastily agreed. They both felt like school boys who were caught doing something they shouldn't have. The thought excited Harry.

He really needed to pipe the fuck down.

Shortly, Anne left the two of them alone muttering something about making soup and that left the two of them alone. Harry didn't feel like a 22 year old independent man at all.

Louis had his hands in his pocket and he was staring out of the window that overlooked the garden. He looked lovely.

Harry cleared his throat. "So what's up?"

"Uh I actually came over to say thank you and apologise."

Harry raised his brow.

"The pasta was delicious and I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. Didn't know how that happened…"

Harry chuckled. "It's okay. You were sick. And I'm glad you liked dinner."

Louis turned from the window and walked towards the bed.

"I listened to some of your music last night. It was pretty dope stuff. I really liked it." Louis said, smiling and said like he genuinely meant it. It made Harry very nervous.

He'd never thought that talking about his music would ever make him feel so anxious. Usually, he liked to talk about it and was quite proud of it too. But with Louis, he felt like he was back up on the stage at the X Factor, auditioning. He didn't know how to react so he averted his gaze and muttered an awkward thanks.

They chatted for some time; Louis talked about some of his favourite songs sung by Harry and Harry told him a funny story behind each song. Conversation flew from music to movies and Louis looked awfully starstruck when Harry mentioned that he had Sandra Bullock in his contacts. Harry didn't remember when Louis came from standing awkwardly in his room to sitting beside him on his bed but he didn't mind.

Sometimes, when Louis got too excited about something he'd move his hands wildly while talking about it. Harry stared at it and Louis had to repeat.

 

"Harry, mate, you've done some pretty exciting things in life. You jumped off an airplane?" Louis asked. His eyes were twinkling with excitement and something Harry couldn't place his finger on. Longing, maybe?

Harry just nodded excitedly. Louis continued. "I saw that in a movie once. Wanted to try it meself but who's got the time and money, eh?"

"I could take you." Harry blurted.

 _Okay, shit._ Now would be a great time for the ground to swallow me up, Harry thought.

Louis looked frozen. He opened his mouth to reply then closed it again. Then, he smiled and his smile grew wider which turned into soft giggles. "You're funny."

Harry was about to correct him when a phone rang. Louis groped his pockets and took out one of those super old flip cellphones. He stared at the caller ID and Harry was trying to guess what was going on in his mind. Louis was a hard one to read. Louis just sighed and sent the call to voicemail. Harry was burning with curiosity.

"Who was that?"

"My sister, Lottie." Louis buried his head in his palms and sighed even more. He had his elbows on his knees and he was crouched. Damn, Harry could fit him in his torso itself.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. She's been bombarding me with calls and messages since seven in the bloody morning. Sisters, I tell ya…"

"Are doing it for themselves. I know." Harry said, thinking about Gemma. "What does she want?"

Louis looked like a deer (Bambi, positively) caught in headlights. Louis put his feet on the bed and curled his arms around his legs, chin on knees. He was _embarrassed_ , it was so adorable.

"Well, uh, I sent her a cryptic text last night. Remember I told you she was a huge fan?"

"Yeah..."

"I might have mentioned you?"

"Let me see!"

"See what?"

"Her texts."

Louis handed him his phone.

_'LOUIS. I know YOU are in Cheshire and I know HARRY FREAKING STYLES is in Cheshire what is happening!!'_

_'LOUIS! Pick up my calls dammit!'_

_'I WILL KILL YOU.'_

_'DID YOU MEET HIM YET?'_

_'WHY AREN'T YOU PICKING UP'_

_'FUCKING GOOGLE WHAT CELLPHONES ARE FOR.'_

_'That's it. I'm running away from home.'_

Harry read all the texts aloud in a high pitch girly voice, laughing at them.

"It's not funny, Harry."

When Harry didn't reply, Louis looked up and Harry had his phone next to his ear and Louis could hear the rings.

_"What are you doing? Harry!"_

"Shh. Just wait."

"Put it on speakerphone." Harry obliged. Louis scooted closer to Harry and he put the tiny phone between their ears. They both were breathing quietly, waiting for her to pick up.

Pick up, she did. Harry regretted holding the phone so close to his ear _._

_'LOUIS TOMLINSON I SWEAR TO GOD-'_

"Hello?" Harry interrupted her yelling.

There was nothing for a while except for some fumbling.

"Yes?"

"Is this Lottie Tomlinson?"

"Y-y-yes."

"Hi, Lottie, this is Harry Styles. Just called to let you know that your brother has ridiculous taste in music."

Harry and Louis both held their breaths, waiting for a reaction and for some seconds there was none, absolutely nothing. But a loud thud sounded and Louis and Harry somehow knew Lottie had fell or slipped or whatever. They could only hope for her safety.

"Ow!" Then there was some more fumbling and Harry detected some sniffling.

"Hello?" He tried again.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm here I'm alive." Contrary to the stony silence at first, there was so much noise now. There were babies crying in the background, utensils clanking and more hushed whispers and now Lottie couldn't stop with the verbal diarrhea. "Oh my God, I'm going to kill my brother. _HiHarryI'mahugefanandohmygodIjust.."_

She kept on talking and talking. Half of what she was saying didn't make sense at all and Harry was shaking while containing his laugh. Louis looked wonderfully embarrassed and looked like he wanted to fling himself out of the window. Harry found the whole situation really funny.

After some minutes of continuous, hysterical babbling, Louis grabbed the phone from Harry's hand. Harry responded with a, ' _Hey!'_

"Lottie!" Louis yelled in the speakers.

The line went quiet.

" _Louis."_ Lottie hissed.

"Will you calm down? This is embarrassing for God's sake!" Harry had his palms covering his mouth and he was failing at trying to control his mirth. Louis glared at him and Harry sat up straight pretending to be very serious. Louis rolled his eyes.

"Louis, you don't understand-"

"I'll call you lat-" Louis didn't get to finish his sentence because Harry snatched the phone again.

"Lottie. Hey, it's me again. Your brother is a pest. It was nice talking to you. I'll send you VIP tickets through Louis for my February show in Doncaster. See you backstage. Bye!" And Harry disconnected the phone. Louis stared at him in disbelief, blue eyes wide.

"You-you…"

"Your welcome." Harry smirked.

"I'm not a pest. _You_ are a bloody pest."

"Well, your sister likes this bloody pest more than you so..."

"You're a dick, Harry. And I have a great taste in music, by the way."

"You don't."

"What makes you think so, pal?"

"Perhaps the fact that you only heard my music yesterday for the first time…" Harry grinned, teeth and all.

Louis rolled his eyes. "So humble. I take back my words. You're a diva. Do you only drink Evian water, Harry? Tell me."

Harry chose not to reply so he just looked at Louis and chuckled. Louis couldn't keep up the mock glare any longer so he gave him a tiny smile which grew wider and wider and they both ended into fits of laughter. Louis' eyes grew really, really small when he laughed and he looked adorably _hot._ He had a soft, calming laugh and honestly, Harry just wanted to kiss the hell out of him, tuck him into his arms and never let him go. This train of thought confused Harry even more because previously Harry had wanted a nice shag, something to pass the time. Not long romantic walks on the beach and picnics in the park. It scared Harry a little bit.

"Harry!" Anne yelled from downstairs.

"Ya?" he yelled back.

"Come downstairs. Get Louis as well."

Harry yelled an affirmative and nodded at Louis. They both stood up, ready to go downstairs. Louis waited outside leaning on a wall while Harry switched the lights in his room off.

"Why'd you do that?" Louis asked and Harry was confused.

"Do what?"

"The tickets thing...For my sister."

"Oh. It's nothing. You mentioned she was a fan so… yeah."

"She's going to be very happy, you know. Thanks, I guess. I owe you one." Louis was looking down and Harry noticed how absurdly long his lashes were. Harry imagined how soft it would feel to kiss them.

"It's not really a big deal, Lou. But you're welcome. Now come on."

Harry started to walk towards Louis and the stairs but a lot of things happened because _a)_ Dusty was a stupid, _stupid_ wretched cat and _b)_ Harry was extremely clumsy.

Dusty randomly decided to run across the corridor and Harry didn't see it and now he was falling head first into- _where?_

" _Ooomph!"_ Louis cried. Okay, what was happening? Harry had fallen onto Louis and they both tumbled on the floor and Harry was on top of Louis, practically in his face. Wait, how could a pair of eyes be this blue? Harry couldn't think straight.

 

\-------

 

 

Louis couldn't think straight. Out of nowhere, Dusty appeared and then suddenly Harry was on top of Louis, staring into his eyes and making no move to get up. Louis felt paralyzed, couldn't get his limbs to move. Harry was the only thing he could see. Wild curls, emerald eyes and those pink lips. If Louis would just move his head a little up, they'd be kissing. Louis saw Harry break his gaze as he looked down to Louis' lips, contemplating. Louis swallowed and wondered if he would kiss Harry back if he made the first move.

Harry's eyes looked fiery, like a storm was brewing behind them. Louis made no move, just lied. Was it only his imagination or was Harry inching closer? Louis blinked and he was trying really hard to think but his brain decided to take a vacation to fucking StupidLand.

"Harry!" A voice yelled, _Anne's,_ and they both scrambled off of each other. Harry's eyes were dark and wild. He ran his fingers through his hair and took deep breaths. Louis did the same. They looked at each other awkwardly. Louis cleared his throat.

"Coming, mum!"

 

On their way down, they both avoided eye contact with each other, focusing on the ground. Harry's mind was in tangles because, honestly, what was he doing? He felt like he had lost control back there and maybe Louis didn't look like he minded? There were so many questions…

And a lot of pent up frustration, it seemed.

Anne was waiting behind the kitchen counter in her usual aura of smiles and sunshine. The exact spot where 2 days ago Harry first saw Louis. She had hot, delicious smelling chicken soup waiting for them. It felt so good to be pampered again, Harry was shamelessly basking in it.

Louis took a seat and beamed at Anne. "Aw, Anne. You didn't have to."

"I absolutely did because you, young man, are not capable of taking care of yourself. Your mother would be very upset if she found out."

"You spoil me." Louis grinned and Harry could swear that he could see smoldering dark blue crystals in his eyes when he faced him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? I'm listening. Comment below ;)  
> And if you like it and only if you like it, kudos maybe? 
> 
> I'll upload the next one in a few days and things will really pick up. Buckle up x


	5. 5.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots and lots of pining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Law school isn't what I thought it would be hence the delay in the chapter. It's 7K. I'm sorry.

Louis didn't see Harry for a few days after the 'Dusty' incident. But that didn't mean he stopped thinking about it altogether. Sometimes, he saw Harry talking on the phone while Louis left for work, sometimes he caught him snoozing through the window in the attic on the first floor. Louis was sure that he would see Harry even less because Gemma was set to arrive very, very soon. His days did feel kind of boring without a curly haired boy but Louis shrugged it off. He did it before the stupid boy arrived, he could do it again.

The lack of attention from Harry certainly made Louis cranky, even if he didn’t admit it. Knowing that Harry was a door away and not staring at him with emerald eyes or asking unusual questions distracted Louis. He felt that his 'Harry has a secret lover' theory was becoming true as more days passed.

Whenever he'd see Harry, he would either be on the phone or sleeping or scribbling something in a tiny notebook and it frustrated Louis because he had _no idea_ what he was doing. He probably was writing big fat cheques, Louis thought.

After much deliberation, Louis had decided to not make the first move and approach Harry. Never let it be said that Louis Tomlinson was a coward. But it was true that Louis liked to make people work for it. He liked a good chase and he liked to be coddled. If Harry really had his head out of his arse like he said, then he shouldn't have a problem to ask Louis out. Louis didn't know the depth of his feelings but that Harry kid was one attractive boy.

Work was work, if not more. Talia's absence caused a little bit chaos in the kitchen but Louis liked chaos. That's what got him into his zone. He worked hard and he liked the feeling of being absolutely exhausted after a productive day.

Talia would be arriving any minute now and Louis was really looking forward to it. Her presence would ease things up at that restaurant and Louis missed her. Just a little. He would never say that to her face though. Last night, Riley had taken a leave to babysit her little brother so things were even more swamped. So much so, that even after ten hours of sleep Louis could feel the tiredness in his bones.

He was laying in his bed, face down and half naked. The sun shone brightly outside the windows. His tired self couldn't be bothered to change clothes and follow the usual nighttime routine. In one of the movies Talia made him watch, (something about stars and cancer?)the main actress called Hazel Grace Lancaster saved her '10' on the 1-10 scale of pain and used it when her boyfriend died. It didn't really make sense to Louis when Talia explained it that way but he realized he was going through _his_ '10'.

His shoulders and back and legs throbbed and he was sure he had pulled a muscle in his calf. He couldn't _move._

Louis groaned in his pillow. "Fuck... fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

Obviously, no one replied. And even if someone did hear him, it would appear that he was wanking but Louis was too tired to even do that.

"I need a fucking massage." He mumbled to himself. He dilly-dallied for another 30 minutes and then he managed to get up from the bed.

Louis rubbed his eyes and stumbled lazily into the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the tub while hot water flowed from the faucet. He faced himself in the mirror. It made Louis very unhappy. He had purple brownish circles under his eyes, he was getting a stubble and his hair was really messy and not even in a cute, endearing way.

He sighed to himself and grabbed his phone. Louis opened his 'Bath' playlist and plugged it into his speakers.

While Angus & Julia Stone crooned in the background, Louis managed to find a bath bomb among the various useless products stuffed in his cabinets. He had a half mind to record the whole 'throwing in the bomb' process but right now, he couldn't be assed to do anything except get in the hot, welcoming water.

Louis felt like he was in paradise when he sat in the tub and the water enveloped him, soothing his muscles and relaxing them. He sighed dreamily and closed his eyes to Big Jet Plane playing near him.

Louis thought of all the things in his agenda for the day, which wasn't much. He had another 5 O'clock shift and before that he needed to buy groceries. Louis played with the colorful water and bubbles while he made a mental list of what all he needed to buy. His mind occasionally wandered to a certain green-eyed popstar but Louis quickly changed his thoughts.

When the track changed to Skin by Rihanna, Louis' mind went blank. The water was lukewarm, the perfect temperature, but Louis felt a hotness that didn't arise from the water. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the tingling sensation in his abdomen and groin. He suddenly remembered Harry cooking in _Louis's_ kitchen and wearing _his_ apron and an involuntary groan escaped his mouth.

Louis squeezed his eyes shut as he sank back further into the water, his neck resting on the hard edge of the tub. He felt his hand inch further down, from his chest to stomach and it kept moving until his fingers wrapped around his cock which was hard and extremely thick. He slowly stroked it and his eyes tightened till Louis could see white spots. His breaths were rapid and the room became steamier. His movements became faster as he thought of a particular boy in that cable knit sweater at the restaurant, praising Louis' cooking.

He bit his lip and he felt his heart beating out of his chest. " _Harry."_ He moaned out, as he rubbed himself faster as he reached his climax.

All he saw now was pictures of green eyes looking at him, curly hair breezing in the wind and a lean, fit shirtless body against him and-

Suddenly a door opened and, "Louis where are you, I've been- _oh my god shit! Shit! Eww_!" A high pitch female voice screamed as Louis was just on the brink of an orgasm. Louis glanced up and was met face to face with a horrified Talia whose eyes had screwed shut and body frozen.

"Talia, what the fuck!" Louis yelled and got up from the tub, grabbing a towel and covering his lower body. He was still uncomfortably hard and in need of a cold shower or an orgasm, perhaps. His heart was thudding as he realized the gravity of the situation. His best mate walked in on him tossing in the bath and moaning Harry's name. He felt like a school girl and he felt so ashamed.

"Haven't you heard of _knocking_?" he hissed, furious.

"Look. I'm sorry. I'm embarrassed just as much as you are, can we pretend it didn't happen? Please? I'll even go out and ring the bell again." Talia had her eyes still closed and she had crossed her arms. Her cheeks were pink and if this was another situation, Louis would've made fun of her. But not now, not at his own expense.

"Okay, okay," He said quickly, "Wait in the living room. I'll get dressed."

Talia silently went outside, closing the door behind her. Louis jumped back in the shower and changed the setting to maximum cold. He shouldn't be doing that seeing that he just got better but he couldn't bring himself to finish off when Talia was just a door away. Let him get sick again, damn it.

The shower was quick. After getting out, he dried himself off and chose a ratty pair of sweatpants and a Ramones t-shirt. He used the hair dryer to warm his body because he was shivering from the shower. All the while, he kept thinking of conversation starters because seeing her was going to be awkward as hell.

Louis sucked it up anyway and went to the living room. Talia was sitting on the sofa, flipping through one of his food magazines. Louis couldn't bring himself to look at her face so he stared at his feet and cleared his throat.

Talia looked up and faked a huge smile. "So, how are you?" She kept smiling and pretending like the last fifteen minutes didn't happen. It made Louis was miserable.

Maybe Louis should kill her and bury her body in the backyard because obviously, two can keep a secret if one of them's dead. Louis shook the thought off and pinched the bridge of his nose.

'I-I'm fine, yeah."

"How were things at work?" Talia didn't look at him in the eye either. She looked too interested in the health and safety guidelines at a food joint article. _She's so full of shit_ , Louis thought. All the chefs had those guidelines memorized by heart. He could rattle it off at three am, half asleep.

"Work was swamped. Glad you're back. How was London?"

"Full of traffic and pollution. Same old, same old." Talia closed the magazine and placed it back on the table, her face morbid. "Marian and her baby boy Chris send their love."

Louis managed to smile. "That's sweet. Tea?"

"Darjeeling, if you have it."

"You know me." Louis smirked. Before entering the kitchen, he turned on the heater. It was getting very chilly. Louis hoped to not get bloody sick again.

"So what were you up to these days?" And damn, Louis was dreading that question. He mentally groaned. He didn't want to lie, he hated liars. But what was he supposed to tell her?

"Eh, nothing much..." _Well, at least it wasn't a lie..._

Talia walked over to him, behind the kitchen counter. "You're withholding information, Louis. It's a punishable offense." She stated casually while tying her hair in a bun.

"What? No."

"Louis."

"Tal."

"Did something happen with your new neighbour?" She finger quoted 'new neighbour'.

Holy shit, she was good. Talia sometimes reminded him of Donna from Suits, a show he used to watch with his mum back home in Don caster. They were insanely alike- tenacious, perceptive and know-it-all. It was scary.

"Nothing happened, Tal. We just, uh, spent a little time together."

"You did _what?"_

"Nothing. That's what we did. Would you give it a rest, Tal?"

"Come on, we're going shopping. You can give me the details then."

"No. I don't want to."

"You can't say no to me. I have major blackmail material, Tomlinson." She grinned, eyes a shameless shade of mischievous.

"We just agreed to never speak of it!" Louis glared at her.

 

Fifteen minutes later, they were on the streets heading over to the shopping center. Louis was angrily stomping and muttering the whole time. Talia made him carry her purse while she touched up her make up in the little compact mirror. He looked like her minion and Louis certainly noticed the smiles and stares people were throwing at their direction.

Holding the dark red lipstick to her lips, Talia said, "You're awfully sullen for a beautiful day like this, darling. Cheer up."

"This is officially the worst day of my life." Louis huffed. "Can we stop at Tesco first? I need to pick up a few things."

"Sure."

Louis bought a few toothbrushes, a bottle of shampoo, body lotion and some vegetables and spices for the kitchen. Talia spent the entire time at the makeup counters vying free samples. Louis paid for it quickly and they headed over to the Center.

On the way, Talia made Louis spill his guts. She had a sharp mind and knew what to say to make Louis start talking. Louis didn't give her all the details, per se. He managed to swerve the conversation when she asked if they'd kissed. She didn't appear much suspicious. Not yet. Louis himself wasn't sure with what he felt. Maybe it was all in his head. Louis hated talking about his feelings. He was a bright lad, he knew that. But when it came to verbalizing his feelings and innermost thoughts, he could run faster than any Olympic athlete.

He liked to think of himself as a 'in the moment' kind of guy. Whatever happens, happens. Consequences are irrelevant. And all these thoughts coupled with his tiredness was beginning to give him a headache.

Louis' mood grew even worse when he realized he'd have to sit the entire time holding her handbag while she would breeze through outfits.

And that's what exactly happened.

Talia was in the trial room and Louis was sitting on the plush fancy chairs, bored out of his mind.

"Red or blue?" A voice spoke up in front of him. When no one replied to that voice, Louis looked up to see a girl staring at him. Waiting for an answer, apparently. He looked around and behind and surely, the boutique was empty.

"Me?" He pointed a finger towards himself.

The girl grinned. "Yes. You. Red or blue?" She held the two dresses in front of her. Louis grew even more confused.

"Uhh, do I know you?"

"Nope." The pretty girl said, examining the dresses. She had dark brown hair with platinum blonde highlights. She was dressed formally, pencil skirt and everything.

"Well?"

Louis went along with it and pointed towards the blue dress. She smiled happily and something about her eyes and dimples looked familiar?

The girl removed the dress off the hanger and dropped it in her shopping bag. She smoothened down her skirt and extended a hand towards Louis. "Gemma."

Louis shook her hand and it clicked. This was _the_ Gemma. The third member of the Styles household he was yet to meet. Well, until now.

"You-you're Anne's daughter right?"

"Yup. You know her?"

"Neighbours... I'm Louis, by the way."

Gemma dropped her bag and stared him like he'd grown another head. The girl was slightly taller than him but she was very petite. She had a dominating presence despite her frail stature.

She was still staring at him, eyes examining.

"You're _the_ Louis? Louis as in Louis Tomlinson?"

"Huh? I thought your brother was the famous one."

"I can't believe I ran into _the_ Louis my brother's been smitten with. This bloody small town, I swear."

Louis stared at her with wide eyes, mouth slightly opened and mind blank. Gemma cringed realizing that she said something she shouldn't have out loud.

She spoke quickly. "Don't mind me. I, uh, I'm tired. You know, I reached today morning and I didn't get to sleep then mum said she wanted to go out for a bloody fancy dinner and I didn't have a dress and-"

"It's okay, I get it."

Talia chose that moment to come out of the trial rooms, arms full of cloths and hair rumpled. "Lou! I think I'm done- who's this?"

"Tal, this is Gemma. She's, uh, Harry's sister."

"Ooooh hi. I'm Talia. Nice to meet you."

Gemma shook her hand as well. "Likewise."

 

Talia and Gemma paid for their clothes while Louis examined some hats displayed near the counter. They said their goodbyes and left. Although, Gemma was clutching her phone in her hand and was looking weird but Louis didn't give much thought to it. He was just relieved it was over.

Louis and Tal were both starving so they decided to stop at McDonalds and get a light lunch. It was already 3pm when they ate and after lunch it was almost time for Louis to get ready for work.

Louis still had 15 minutes before he had to leave for work. He had changed clothes, charged his phone and finished all his chores. He just had to kill fifteen minutes.

That's what he told himself anyway as he walked up to the attic to peek from the window. He felt absolutely shameful. The room was tiny but the window had a clear view of Harry's room and the kitchen downstairs. Harry rarely closed his curtains which was a plus point. Right now, his bedroom seemed empty but when Louis craned his neck to check out the living room, he saw all three of them sitting around the island, talking and laughing. Louis felt himself smiling too.

He was ridiculous, that's what he was.

Harry was wearing a red flannel button up and his hair was loose, wild and curly as per usual. He had his arms around Gemma's shoulders as they chatted animatedly.

"Enough creeping already, Lou. Work. You have to get to work." He muttered to himself. As soon as he was about to leave, his phone rang. The caller ID flashed a picture of Anne.

Louis picked it up at once.

"Hi, Lou. It's me. You free tonight?"

 

\-------

 

 Harry was sure his mum and sister were absolutely, one hundred percent crazy. Harry was thrilled and everything about Gemma's arrival but she was proving to be an absolute _nuisance_. And coupled with their mother, they could rival the freaking mafia. Harassment, that's what this was. They wouldn't stop talking about Louis and referring to him as 'his little crush'. It was sort of true, but they were all adults! Using the word 'crush' seemed embarrassing and childish. Anne kept telling Gemma about how they apparently stared at each other all the time which, by the way, was _totally false_ and how Harry kept asking questions about Louis. Harry strongly objected to that but Gemma and Anne were too deep in their gossip discussion to even let him speak.

"Enough!" Harry raised his voice and they both stopped with their chatter about peonies and tulips as wedding flowers and turned to face him. "This was supposed to be family time. Why are we discussing something irrelevant here?"

No one answered and Anne bent down to whisper something in Gemma's ear. She giggled quietly and Harry glared.

"Harry?" Gemma said between giggles.

"What?"

"Say Louis."

"Lou--- what the hell?" He immediately realized what they were doing and he wasn't going to have any of that. Nope. No way. He sang to 50,000 people for a living and he was a pro at handling mobs of fans and paparazzi. He could totally handle his sister.

He got up from his stool at the kitchen island but Gemma was quick with her reflexes and grabbed his arm. Harry was forced to sit back down. It felt like a third degree interrogation.

"You both are crazy. I do not have a crush on Louis!"

And at that they both burst out laughing. Anne clutched her stomach and Gemma put her head down on the marble counter, her body shaking with giggles.

"You were so right, mum!" She managed to say between laughs. "Hahahaha! He's totally blushing! Look at his cheeks."

She grabbed his cheeks and pinched them real hard while cooing. "Aw, Haz. You're adorable."

Harry swatted her hands away. He grabbed her hands and pushed them behind her to grab Gemma in a headlock.

"Owwww. Unhand me, you big oaf!" She yelled.

"I might be the younger sibling but I'm stronger."

"Mum, is that Louis outside?" And Harry immediately loosened his hold to look outside and Gemma took the opportunity to free herself and run. She laughed out loud as she ran around the living room, Harry on her tail.

"You're so naive!" She panted through laughs, "That was way too easy! You're still stupid, Harry! Bloody knob."

Harry felt his cheeks flush and he chased her faster and faster. When he finally caught hold of her, Anne yelled at both of them to keep it down.

 

It was almost five and they sat around the kitchen island, chatting. Gemma was telling them about her job and friends and Harry told her about his. Soon, the subject moved on to food and dinner. Harry wanted to order in, Gemma wanted Chinese and Anne was happy with whatever her children were happy with. Obviously, Gemma won the argument; after all she was the lawyer and she was always got what she wanted. So, they decided to go to the only Chinese place in town.

"Mum, does Louis live alone?" Gemma asked and Harry sighed. She wouldn't let this go.

"Yes, darling. Why?"

"Maybe we should ask him to come with us?"

Dead silence. Harry was mentally calculating the many ways he could kill her. He was so getting back to her. He had no idea what she was thinking but whatever it was, it must be bad.

"Gemma, what are you doing?" He said, sighing.

"Shh, baby bro. You'll thank me later."

Anne, however, was definitely on board with the idea. "That's a great idea, Gems!" And she winked at her older child, as she dialed Louis' number.

To Harry's surprise, Louis didn't relent that easily. It took a lot of convincing from Anne's side to get Louis to come. Louis must not like him, Harry concluded. What other reason could he have to say no? Harry cringed at the thought. Louis probably hated Harry and now he was being forced to attend a family dinner where Gemma was absolutely going to throw a lot of inappropriate comments and embarrass the both of them.

He sighed again for the hundredth time, that evening. Everything felt bittersweet.

Gemma wanted to nap so Harry retreated back to his room to finish a song he'd been working on for the past two days.

 

 

\---

 

It was 7:15 pm and Louis was disgustingly sweaty. He could feel sweat drip down his back and he didn't even want to remove his toque because of what the state of his hair could be. The kitchen was a fucking sauna. His colleagues moved around him, sounds of whisking, chopping, frying, stirring filling the air which smelled of various spices.

"Braised short ribs, hand rolled gnocchi arrabbiata and a balsamic walnut dressing salad for table 9!" He yelled and pushed the tray near the station for one of the waiters to collect it. Austin, one of the many waiters at the restaurant, rushed forward and collected the tray from the station with a nod towards Louis.

Louis glanced at the clock. His 5 PM shift usually ended around 10; 11 at the maximum. But today he was taking off early to go to dinner with the Styles' while Talia would cover for him. He had tried to decline, after all it was a family reunion thing but Anne was relentless and very, very persuasive. He had no idea why she'd want him to accompany them. Maybe it was pity? Louis wasn't sure at all.

Anne was lovely, a very nice woman. He met Gemma a few hours ago but she seemed like a fun person and lastly, Harry. He was pretty fun; both pretty _and_ fun. But there was too much tension (sexual, perhaps?) with them. Louis had absolutely no idea what to expect when he'd meet them at Morals Village at 8pm.

He washed his hands and began preparing a caramel pudding; his last dish for tonight before taking off for home and a lovely shower.

At 7:35 sharp, he was home and stripping down his clothes for a shower. He didn't want to be late. Whatever their reason was for inviting him, it didn't matter. It was really nice of Anne and he didn't want to be late or anything.

Or maybe he was just looking forward to seeing Harry.

After a quick shower (during which his iPod blared Harry Styles' second studio album), Louis dressed himself in black jeans and a grey button down, which according to Riley, really complimented with his blue eyes.

He lightly dabbed some cologne ( _Acqua Di Gio_ , Armani. Gifted to him by good old Uncle Jeff, may he rest in peace) on his wrists and jawline. The cologne was probably more expensive than his life, that's why it left the shelf for special occasions only. It made Louis feel very _avant_ _garde_. He quickly dried his hair and left it in its natural messy state.

Grabbing his keys and switching the lights off, he left the house. Morals Village wasn't very far but it wasn't very near either to just reach their by foot. Louis hailed a cab and avoided thinking of the little hole it would cause in his wallet. He gave the directions and sat back exhaling a huge breath.

 

It took 15 minutes for Louis to reach there. His watch displayed 8:10 so it was fine. He paid the driver and proceeded to walk towards the restaurant. It was quite fancy, chandeliers and all. An Asian lady came up to him with a smile.

"Good evening, sir. I'm Casey, your hostess for tonight. You're alone or are you expecting people?" She said, politely. The place looked posh, just as Louis remembered. Majority of the patrons were the rich folks of town, dressed in designer suits and dresses. The tables were set far from each other. The decor was modern but incorporated a bit of Chinese culture here and there. The air was rich with the smell of schezwan sauce.

"Hi. I, um, I'm with the Styles family. Are they here?"

Recognition flitted across her face. "Oh!" Her smile grew even wider. "Certainly, sir. Please follow me."

Louis followed her as she led him to a table, to _the_ table. He spotted all three of them, sipping red wine and chatting among themselves. The table was a four seater, Harry and Gemma sitting beside each other and on their opposite, Anne with an empty chair beside her. The hostess pulled out his chair for him and before seating he went over to Anne's side.

"Hello." He leaned down, pecking her cheek.

"Louis!" She smiled warmly, squeezing his arm. "We were waiting for you. Come sit."

Louis smiled at Gemma and Harry and took his seat across them, thanking the hostess who went back to retrieve a menu for him.

"Hi, Louis." Gemma smiled, eyes twinkling and holding a glass of wine half empty. Her hair was braided and the blue dress Louis picked out for her earlier looked lovely on her.

"Hey, Gemma. Harry." He smiled at the both of them. Harry, who was directly opposite to him, was sporting a yellow shirt with pineapples on it. The shirt was ridiculous but he somehow managed to pull it off. His hair was, as per usual, free and willowy and gorgeous. Louis tried not to stare at it for too long. His fingers were clad in various rings, all silver and shiny and expensive. Harry beamed at Louis, his cheeks a warm shade of pink. Louis grinned back.

"How's it going, Louis?" Gemma asked. The hostess, Casey, slid a menu in front of Louis. Louis thanked her with a smile.

"Good, good." He said taking a sip of the bubbly water in front of him. "It was really nice of you guys to invite me. You didn't have to. But thanks."

Anne laughed. "It was more of... _our_ pleasure, sweetheart. Besides, Harry wanted to see you as- _ouch_." She yelped. Louis noticed Harry silently glaring at Anne as he chewed the complimentary peanuts.

"These heels, I swear." Anne said shrugging. That didn't fool Louis at all who felt himself smiling at the two of them. He picked up the menu with its leather binding and gold embroidery and flipped through the pages.

A waiter came up to his side. "Wine, sir?"

"Yes, please." And he filled Louis' glass. Louis somehow knew that it was one of the finest ones from their cellar. Culinary school and his various experiences enabled him to differentiate wine just from its aroma. He shuddered to think of the price.

"Have you ordered yet?" Louis asked.

"No, silly. We were waiting for you." Gemma smiled.

 

\----

 

Harry was on his third glass of wine and he was feeling slightly buzzed. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk all that on an empty stomach. The wine was slightly high in its alcoholic content. Thank God Gemma had a conference call the next morning and had to limit her alcohol intake. At least she could drive them back home. Harry wasn't very fond of drunk pap shots.

Louis had arrived and he was looking so adorable that Harry felt the need to start on his fourth glass. The tight grey button up made his eyes look so blue, Harry's heart skipped a beat when he looked too much into them. His biceps bulged through the shirt and Harry wondered what it would feel like to run his tongue on them. His hair, in its all caramel brown glory, looked soft and glossy under the yellow lights. And wait, was that a five o clock shadow? Harry sucked in a large breath.

Today, he had the wine to blame. No one was stopping him. Wine, yes. It was the wine's fault.

Gemma and Louis were discussing the menu when the hostess came to take their orders. Obviously, she asked him first. It made Harry shudder because she was being extra polite towards him, all smiley and everything.

"I'll have the Chow Mein, please."

She smiled coyly. "Good choice, sir." And typed it on the tab. Harry mentally rolled his eyes because it was just chow mein, nothing too extravagant.

Anne and Gemma both went for the dumplings and wontons.

Before the hostess could even turn completely towards Louis, he started talking. "I'll have a quarter of the Peking Roasted Duck, with soy and mashed garlic. And a Bread Salad with Gorgonzola, extra roasted red peppers and no basil, please. I'm allergic."

Louis rattled all of that in one breath and Harry could only stare at him, mouth open and eyes wide. It slightly turned him on too. Harry wasn't what you'd call a 'foodie', he was one of those guys that never really fussed about food, and happy to eat what was given without much interest.

But Louis, talking like that with so much confidence and sureness made him even more attractive. Casey, the hostess, looked slightly taken aback but scurried away quickly.

"The hotpot here is good, had it meself when I last came here," Louis spoke and Harry shook himself and looked down. His mother and sister were listening attentively as he continued.

"But the soup base, which is the bread and butter of a good hot pot, was terrible."

"The menu says that their newest soup base, Morel Mushroom is pretty good and has- wait what? Many benefits including beauty." Gemma said, reading on the menu. Then she turned towards him and nudged. "You should order this, Harry. Might work on your ugly mug."

He pinched her thigh. " _You're_ ugly."

"Louis thinks I'm prettier than you."

They both turned to look at Louis who had an alarmed expression. "What? When?"

"So you disagree?" Gemma said, glowering. "You think I'm not pretty."

Louis' face flushed. "No- no. You're gorgeous. I meant--"

"Gemma, would you stop? You're being mean." Harry said. He's been subjected to Gemma's twisted sense of humor since, well, birth. "Louis, she's joking. Don't mind Ms. Bigshot lawyer here."

"At least I have a degree you prat!" Gemma said, pointing her chopsticks at Harry.

"Kids." Mum said quietly but it was meant to threaten.

Harry and Gemma both shut up after that. Conversation flew from Gemma's work to Harry's visit at the White House in Washington and everyone had an interesting story to tell. Louis uncannily fit right in with his sweet humor and good listening skills. It was never silent because they'd met up after ages and Gemma was a chatterbox. Not everyone agreed with Harry on the latter part.

The food was delicious. The Styles family ate with spoons but Louis bravely picked up the chopsticks. Harry never mastered the art of eating food with chopsticks. He had tried but had ended up with a nasty picture of him with a shrimp on his shirt in People magazine. Spoons, forks and knives were safe.

Louis, on the other hand, was graceful with his finger movements and Harry couldn’t stop staring. He effortlessly picked up the chicken with the sticks and brought it to his mouth, thin lips closing around the chopsticks with not an inch of sauce smeared anywhere. Damn.

Harry swallowed loudly when Louis licked his lips clean. Gemma must've noticed because she tilted and whispered in his ear, "You're so obvious, it's disgusting."

He ignored her. He finished his noodles and wiped his mouth with the napkin. Sipping more wine, he looked at Louis who appeared deep in thought.

 

He ignored her. He finished his noodles and wiped his mouth with the napkin. Sipping more wine, he looked at Louis who appeared deep in thought.

"The food was amazing and everything but it definitely didn't beat that salmon you made, Louis." Harry said quietly looking at Louis through his lashes. He felt like he was being scrutinized and he felt a little shy. Which was pretty unusual for Harry. His work included being scrutinized daily and every second of his life.

Thankfully, Gemma wasn't giving him any looks and neither was his mum. Louis, however... Louis' eyes looked lit up. He was grinning, teeth and all. Eyes crinkling. Fists clenching. Hearts thudding.

Harry could feel the center of his gravity shift. He smiled dopily at Louis.

"Thanks, Harry." And the way his name rolled off Louis' tongue mesmerized him. Or maybe it was the wine talking. In a sudden moment of courage, Harry slowly slid his right foot on the hardwood floor and interlinked it with Louis' left foot. A small but very vey insignificant voice was flashing alarm and danger signs in his head but alcohol won. He saw Louis freeze with chopsticks mid-air. His shoulders grew tense but Harry shuffled his foot so it aligned perfectly next to Louis'.

Breathing deeply, Louis managed to get the chopsticks to his mouth. When he met Harry's gaze, Harry smiled flirtatiously. Louis' face was impassive.

Main course was followed by dessert. On collective decision and advice given by the very much expert Louis, they ordered for a Meringue Box with Amaretto Cream and Fruit.

It was almost 10 and everyone was happily buzzed from the wine except Gemma. Anne laughed at the littlest of things and Harry felt his gaze flit to Louis every ten seconds or so. Sometimes Louis met his gaze and presented him with a smile of his own, sometimes he didn't notice. Honestly, Harry was just tired of having Louis so frustratingly close and not being able to do anything about it.

He wanted to touch Louis, and not simply touch. But caress him. He wanted to kiss that pretty mouth and run his fingers in his hair. He wanted to lay on his chest and listen to his heart beat. And he wanted to get to know Louis.

His eyes held so many secrets that Harry wanted to throttle them out of him. He wanted to hear Louis talk and see the way his hands moved wildly. He wanted to feel his hips enveloped in his palms, wanted to feel his long lashes tickle his skin. He wanted to bite his collarbone and suck red marks on them. He wanted to spoil Louis with lavish gifts, He wanted to make him smile. Want, want... so much want.

He wanted Louis to feel the same way.

Harry knew he was staring unabashedly because Louis was squirming in his seat. Reluctantly, he looked down and played with his rings while Anne and Gemma talked about something. Harry had no idea about what.

Dessert was excellent and Louis's chest swelled with pride when everyone loved his choice. Harry called for the cheque and took out his wallet. He noticed Louis looking very uncomfortable and Harry wasn't sure about what. He had removed his foot fifteen minutes ago and he wasn't even staring now. He was about to ask Louis but Louis spoke first,

"Hey, let's split it. I can pay half."

Harry opened his mouth yet again but Gemma beat him to it. "Don't be ridiculous, Louis. This idiot earns in millions. I love wasting his money." Her smile was mischievous. "He's taking me shopping tomorrow."

Harry chuckled. Money wasn't an issue with him and he considered himself lucky. He loved to take care of his family and spoil them once in a while. Especially, Gemma. He remembered the last time he took her shopping in London. His bank balance grew short of 10,000 quid. Harry didn't really mind. Gemma was looking beyond happy with her Dior clothes and Nars make up stuff. He didn't really have many people to spend on.

"But-" Louis started.

"Hush, Lou. No buts. It's on us." Anne said, silencing him. He smiled at them and somehow Harry knew Louis was fidgeting with his fingers under the table.

\---

It shouldn't have surprised Harry to see a paper with a phone number written on it with his bill. He crumpled it into a ball and stuffed it in his back pocket making a mental note to pop it in the dustbin at home. Casey, the hostess, smiled too wide at him when they were leaving the restaurant. Harry hoped his smile didn't appear to be a cringe.

His mum and Gemma had roped Louis in to ride with them. It only made sense as Louis literally lived next door. Gemma and his mum combined were forces of nature you couldn't beat. Louis probably didn't have a choice.

Gemma took the driver's seat and his mum called shot gun. Harry and Louis were in the backseat, next to each other. As Gemma started driving, Louis's hand fell on the leather seat, palm up. Harry's was right next to it, so close that their hands were almost touching. Gemma played some Fleetwood Mac in the music system and the ghosts of their almost touches caused an electricity between them, so strong that it was almost tangible.

When they were 5 minutes from home, Gemma spoke up tapping her fingernails on the steering wheel. "So, Louis. This was fun. We should totally hang out again."

Harry felt Louis smile beside him. "Yeah sure. I'm right next to you. Holler and I'll be there."

 

Gemma stopped the car in front of Louis' house. He said his thank you’s and good nights and left the car. Harry felt himself pout, because he was hoping for more. But he didn't say anything and stared out of the window. As soon as Louis shut the car door behind him, Gemma drove the car to the garage in their house. When they got out, Gemma stretched and his mum yawned.

"Come on, Harry. It's freezing. Let's go inside." His mum said rubbing her arms. They proceeded to walk inside and Harry followed. When he heard the key jingle inside the lock, he stopped and turned.

"Where are you going, Haz?" Gemma yelled from the porch, her voice getting smaller as Harry sprinted away.

"I'll be right back!" He yelled. He saw his sister wink at his mother as they both started catcalling and hooting. He reached Louis' front gate, his heart almost in his mouth. Louis was standing on his porch, his back towards Harry as he keyed the lock.

"Lou." Harry called out softly. He walked slowly towards the porch, his heart erratic and breaths wild from the run. Louis turned towards him, eyes wide. Harry slowly climbed the three steps and entered Louis' personal space. He had no idea what he was doing. He was following his heart and his gut. Louis was still staring at him.

He didn't rush at all. Just slid his hands on Louis's hips, thumb grazing his abdomen. Louis still didn't say anything, just stood there frozen.

They were sharing the same air and pushing his forehead against Louis', Harry took a deep breath. "All I could think about today...was kissing you." Harry murmured, his lips dangerously close to Louis'.

"Harr-"

"Can I kiss you?" Harry touched his nose with Louis' waiting for reply. Louis didn't say anything just bobbed his head a little and frankly, that was all Harry needed when he crashed his lips on Louis'.

For a while, they just stood like that, lips pressed against each other’s. Harry slid his hands from Louis's soft hips and cupped them around the sides of his neck. Louis leaned into his touch as their lips started moving. Louis was pushed against the door and Harry was crowding every inch of him.

When Louis grabbed his hips, Harry shuddered in his mouth as he moved closer and closer to Louis. Louis licked Harry's lips and he eagerly opened his mouth to give him access. Louis licked into his mouth and Harry felt goosebumps all over his body. His hold on Harry's hip tightened and Harry did what he'd been wanting to do for so long; he entangled his fingers in Louis' hair.

It was every bit as soft and fluffy as Harry had imagined, if not more. Soft touches, wet heat and the cold outside made up a heady combination and Harry kissed Louis deeper.

When they both ran out of breath, they pulled away and stared into each other’s' eyes, panting. Louis still had his hands clutched on Harry's hips and Harry was still running his hands through Louis' hair.

They tilted their heads down until their lips met once more and it was just as feverish as the previous one. They sucked little kisses on each other's lips and no one was getting enough of the other. It was getting very heated.

Finally, Louis pulled back. "I-I- I should go." He said, between pants. Harry stared at his face, not being able to take his eyes off. Reluctantly, he freed his hands from Louis' hair and took a step back.

"Yeah, yeah of course..." Harry said, hands scratching the back of his own neck nervously.

Slowly but gracefully, Louis stepped forward and stood on the balls of his feet. He pecked Harry's lips with a slight pressure. "Good night, Harry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts???????????? Let me know!   
> Also, who doesn't like Gemma?   
> *Louis' voice* nobody nobody 
> 
>  
> 
> Baby or no baby, I shall always be a larrie to have and to cherish in sickness and in health until death do us part. 
> 
>  
> 
> If you like it then leave kudos I'll appreciate that :)x


	6. 6.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mega fluff-fest, on the house. Enjoy ;) 
> 
>  
> 
> As always, thanks to my amazing beta. If it weren't for him I'd probably be in the hospital for severe back and shoulder pain.

Gemma sighed as she closed her laptop. Drafting was the most boring thing that came with her job. She'd been at it for hours and now she could really feel it in her shoulders and back. Grabbing her mug, she stood up to stretch and walk around a bit. Downstairs, her mum was sitting on the sofa talking on the phone and laughing. Gemma crossed her and entered the kitchen to get another cuppa. While the tea boiled, Gemma grabbed a bag of nachos to go along with it.

Her little brother's room's door was shut and Gemma had her hands full with food and drink. She kicked the door and it didn't open and no one replied either.

"Harry! Put on your pants and open the door!" She yelled.

No reply. She balanced the nachos and tea in one hand to pounded her fists on the door loudly. If Harry was doing the dirty at this time of the day with his mum and sister a door away, she was going to kick his ass, Gemma decided.

"Harry!" She yelled again. Suddenly, she heard shuffling of footsteps and the door closed revealing a much disheveled Harry with big headphones around his neck.

"What do you want, Gems?"

Gemma glared at him. "I've been knocking since ages. Are you deaf?"

Harry rolled his eyes and pointed at his headphones with a ' _duh'_ face. Already tired from work, Gemma grew more annoyed and she knew that if she had her hands free she'd probably slap him.

She entered the room and it was messy, as usual. She heard the door shut behind her.

"What's all this?" She asked Harry. The huge bed in the center of the room was covered in pages, lots of it. There was a laptop and a small keyboard attached to it.

"I'm working." Harry said and moved to snatch the bag of nachos from Gemma's hand.

"Hey!"

"Shh." Harry said through a mouthful of nachos. Gemma rolled her eyes but nonetheless walked over and took a seat on the chair beside the window.

Taking a sip of her tea, she said. "Soooo..."

Harry groaned and Gemma guffawed. "So what?"

"You and Louis, hmm? Do I get to be bridesmaid?"

"It's not like that!"

"Sure, Haz. What happened last night though? Did you two kiss?"

Harry's cheeks flushed and he couldn't help but smile. Gemma wanted to coo at her little brother. Harry was sitting on the floor, leaning on the bed. He had a pencil in his hand and he was chewing on the top of it nervously. It was high school all over again, Gemma thought as she remembered the time Harry had a crush on this girl named Evie. He was acting the same way.

Gemma grabbed a pillow and aimed it for his head. As soon as it hit – bull’s eye – and everything, Harry yelped. "What was that for?"

"Stop eating that pencil. It's annoying me."

Sighing, Harry placed the pencil back on the bed.

"So you two kissed. Now what?"

"I don't really know."

"Well then go talk to him!"

"And say what?"

"That... I don't know... that you want to have his babies?"

"Gemma." Harry glared at her.

"You should tell him how you feel about him."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way? I'd look like a bloody idiot. And we met just days ago."

Gemma sighed. Honestly, boys were so dumb. "Did he kiss back? Good lord, it's like you're a teenager again."

"Uh, I think he did."

"And you two obviously have chemistry! I mean, _I_ could feel it at dinner yesterday."

"I just... I don't know what to do. I've been out of this dating thing for a long time..." When Gemma didn't reply Harry continued, "And I leave after a month and a half. What will happen then?"

"Harry. Haz. Listen to me. You'd be stupid to not go after Louis. And whatever happens after a month and a half we'll deal with it. You're thinking too much into this. And you're Harry Styles! You get what you want. Millions of girls would die to be with you, yadda, yadda-blah, blah. You get me?"

Harry sighed and nodded. There was silence for some time. Gemma finished her tea and looked out of the window and Harry scrambled back to his bed, pencil back in his hand and started working.

Gemma got up from her seat and walked over to Harry. She leaned over the bed and ruffled his hair. Harry huffed, annoyed and ran his fingers thought his hair to straighten it. Gemma giggled.

"I'm going to take a nap. Go talk to Louis."

"Later."

"What? No." Gemma said and snatched Harry's headphones.

"Give those back."

"No."

"Fine. I have another pair."

Gemma rolled her eyes and before Harry could suspect it she leaped on the bed, shut down his laptop and held it close to her chest.

"What the fuck?" Harry cried.

"I'm serious. Go."

Harry knew that Gemma would herself drag him if he didn't give in. That would be an awkward meeting so he sighed and nodded. "I'll go, okay? Now get out. I need to change."  


Gemma grinned and sauntered out of the room with his laptop and headphones. Harry shut the door behind her and walked over to his closet. He chose a pink button down and paired it with grey shorts. After dressing himself, he dabbed some cologne on his wrists and jawline. His hair was messy as usual so instead of tying it in a bun, he scrounged up one of his old scarves and tied it around his head.

He looked in the mirror. _Presentable enough,_ he decided and grabbed his cellphone and walked out.

Harry was on a mission to get out of the house unsuspected. One more smirk from his mother and he might just strangle himself. Peering from the corridor, he saw Gemma's room was shut. Slowly without making any noise, he tip toed down the stairs carefully looking around. When he looked in the kitchen, his mum was standing on the other side of the counter, wash cloth in hand. Harry bent down so as to escape her.

When she turned away, Harry quickly crossed the kitchen and dining room and made it safely to the foyer. His heart was pounding and he felt all sorts of jittery. He was excited and nervous to see Louis. What if he laughed in his face and said that he didn't remember anything and he was just too drunk? What if he told him that he wasn't interested? Worse, what if he was already committed?

Harry felt like his heart was in his throat. As he started walking towards Louis' door he tried all type of breathing exercises he was aware of. He repeatedly kept wiping his hands on his shorts as they were getting sweaty.

This was all very unfamiliar and weird to Harry. It had been a long time since he felt nervous. He was naturally a confident person. Harry had no idea what was happening to him.

Now, Harry was standing on Louis' porch, just outside his door. His finger ghosted over the doorbell.

"On the count of three." Harry whispered to himself.

He inhaled a huge deep breath and began counting. "One, two........ _three_." And he pressed the button. Harry's heart was beating wildly and his breaths slightly labored.

"You're Harry Styles. You're Harry Styles...." He kept murmuring to himself. But in that moment, he didn't feel like Harry Styles at all. He felt like just Harry; an ordinary guy who was over the moon for someone.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal an adorable looking Louis with a spatula in his hand and an apron tied around his waist. Harry automatically started smiling.

Louis just stared at him, mouth slightly open. "Harry... hi."

"Louis."

No one said anything and they just stared. It was getting slightly awkward so Harry cleared his throat. "So, um, I was hoping we could talk?"

Louis seemed to regain his composure and he nodded. "Uh, sure, come in."

Harry entwined his fingers and played with his hands while he followed Louis inside.

"I'm sorry... the house is a mess. I've been, uh, baking." Louis said, slightly embarrassed. And true to his word, Harry could smell something... wait was that strawberry? Whatever it was, it smelled delicious, sugary and strawberry. Harry's favorite.

 _Okay no diverting_ , Harry thought. _Talk. You're here to talk. Not exchange recipes._

Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, Harry opened his mouth to speak. "Louis. Look. I, uhm, I-I really like you, okay? I think you're cute and sweet and not to mention devilishly handsome--"

Harry was interrupted by Louis' giggles and he tried to glare at him for interrupting but Harry couldn't resist smiling himself. This... everything felt so ridiculous.

Harry continued. "So yeah. I fancy you. A lot."

Harry stared at Louis. Louis had his hands wrapped around himself and he was looking down. Harry couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were slightly pink and he was biting his lip. Harry loudly swallowed.

"You're ridiculous, Harry." Louis said as put the spatula down on the counter. He walked to where Harry was standing and Harry felt his heart back in his throat again.

Louis stopped right in front of him. Harry looked down at him. "So you didn't mind? The kiss?"

"I kissed you back, didn't I?"

"Yeah... It was one hell of a kiss."

"True."

"So..."

"So..?"

"Well?"

"Well what?" Louis tilted his head and stared at Harry, smiling adorably malicious.

"You're going to make me work for this, aren't you?"

"Hmmm..."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. If a chase was what Louis wanted, then a chase was what he'd get. Harry took a step towards Louis and stood right in front of him, toe to toe. He brought his hands up and cupped them around Louis' waist.

Staring directly into his eyes, Harry said. "So you like me back, huh?"

As soon as Louis opened his mouth to speak, Harry tightened his hands on Louis' waist, yanked him and pinned him on the wall. Louis was taken by surprise and hence, unable to do anything but stare shocked.

And Harry started tickling Louis.

Louis' eyes went wide with disbelief and he squirmed in Harry's hands trying to get away. "Harry!" He shrieked, between laughs. "Let go of me!" Louis thrashed even more in his arms but Harry was stronger and bigger. Harry laughed along with him as Louis tried to yell between peals of laughter.

Louis somehow managed to free himself and when he did he sprinted across the room, away from Harry. Harry quickly followed suit and started running.

"Get away from me, you idiot!" Louis shouted. He entered the living room and ran and jumped on the sofa. Harry fastened his pace and as soon as he was close enough, he extended his arms and fisted Louis' shirt in his hands. Harry yanked him towards him and pushed him on the sofa. Louis fell on the sofa on his back and in the perfect position for Harry to hover over him.

Before Louis could start running again, Harry grabbed both of his hands, dragged and pinned them over his head. He slung one leg over Louis' thighs and straddled him. Louis' azure eyes were wide and full of want.

Harry bent down and pressed their foreheads together. They both were panting from the run. "Still want to run, hmm?" Louis shook his head.

"Thought so." Harry murmured. He tilted his head and without breaking his gaze from Louis's, he bent down and pressed their lips together.

Louis immediately responded as he tilted his head up to meet Harry's lips. Harry felt Louis' hands moving – caressing – his hips, torso, neck and finally they reached Harry's hair. Harry let out an involuntary moan as Louis' fingers tightened in his hair. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he felt his body tingle.

Harry traced the bottom of Louis' lip with his tongue and Louis opened up immediately. Harry felt Louis smile through his lips and he smiled back as he sank deeper on the sofa and closer to Louis. The room was silent except for the sloppy noises their lips made as soon as they detached. But Louis pulled Harry back in as soon as he got up to breathe.

It was wild. It was intense. It was wildly intense.

Louis tasted like spearmint and Harry couldn't get enough of it. Harry could feel himself get sweaty as he sucked long kisses on Louis' lips. His lungs were getting short of air so he reluctantly pulled back and put his lips on Louis' jawline. He moved his lips down to his neck, sucking and licking in his wake. Louis was getting restless and restless as he moved his head accordingly to give Harry access. Louis' soft moans were getting louder as Harry descended downwards.

"You smell so good...” Louis said in a hushed tone, his eyes screwed shut and mouth open and panting.

"Mmm." Harry murmured.

Louis pulled Harry back up and attached his lips to his in another heated kiss. At this point, they both were getting hard and Harry was aware that his boner was probably tenting his shorts and poking Louis in the thigh. Harry had no idea where he stood with Louis so he decided to test the waters because his groin was painfully hard.

His hand left Louis' cheek and slid down his body and stopped on his thigh. Harry lifted Louis' thigh and slung it across is waist. Louis moaned in his mouth. Harry's hand moved further up until it stopped on Louis' abdomen.

"C-c-can I?" Harry said in Louis' mouth.

Louis pulled back from the kiss and stared into Harry's eyes, breathing hard. Harry matched the rhythm of his breath to Louis' and stared back into his blue, blue eyes and he could swear that they were a shade or two darker from the usual. Louis slowly nodded his head and Harry sunk down again on Louis' neck.

Harry undid the buttons on Louis' sweatpants and palmed him through his boxers. Louis shuddered and made soft noises.

"Harry..."

While Harry slowly inserted his hand in Louis' boxers, Louis unbuttoned Harry's shorts as well and slid his hands under. His touch grew more confident as Harry groaned. The heel of Louis' foot dragged across Harry's now bare back. Somewhere along their wet, sloppy kisses Louis had managed to get Harry's shirt off and Harry never really realized it when until Louis' hand moved over his chest.

"Lou." Harry squeaked when Louis grabbed him under his shorts. Panting loudly, Harry joined his forehead to Louis' and started rubbing him as well.

In a matter of few minutes and few kisses sucked here and there, they got each other off.

 

 

 

Louis glanced at Harry who was sitting beside him on the sofa, the very same sofa they had corrupted five minutes ago. Harry's head was thrown back, neck resting on the edge as he stared at the ceiling, panting. His curls were astray and untamed, his neck had a glistening sheen of sweat and his lips, bitten and raw, were apart. He kept blinking his eyes slowly, slightly disoriented.

Harry was an absolute picture. Louis couldn't help but stare.

"That was amazing." Harry murmured.

Louis huffed out a laugh as he untied the apron from his waist. He made a mental note to put it in the washer as soon as Harry left. Probably along with his boxers and sweatpants. Ugh, he was all gross.  "So soon? You haven't even had the full package yet"

"There's a package?" Harry said, lifting his neck.

Louis smirked. "There's plenty."

Harry pursed his lips and widened his eyes making a mock impressed face.

"I'm all gross." Harry said looking at himself.

"So am I. Come on I'll give you fresh clothes."

 

They made small conversation while they cleaned up. Louis' clothes obviously wouldn't fit Harry but Louis managed to find a pair of track pants from the back of his closet which were huge on him. They were slightly tight and fell just before Harry's ankles but it was okay. Harry was very accommodating.

Louis brought up Harry's music again as he'd been listening to it a lot lately. Okay maybe that was the only thing he was listening to, but Harry didn't have to know that right? He'd probably find it creepy. Harry became enthusiastic at once and keened at the compliments he received.

"Lou, why have you made so many cupcakes? Is there a party tonight? I never got an invite." Harry fake pouted and picked one of the cupcakes and biting into it.

"Mmm, these are so good..." Harry said through a mouth full of frosting. He took another bite and this time the frosting smeared messily around his mouth.

Smiling shyly, Louis stepped around the corner and stood in front of Harry. "Some people take a bath or take walks or maybe listen to music when they're nervous or need to think." He brought his thumb to Harry's mouth and cleaned it up with one swipe. "I, personally, like to bake. It helps me relax."

And Louis placed his lips around his thumb and sucked gently his eyes never leaving Harry's. Harry's pupils were blown and before he could manage to do or say anything, Louis grabbed his hips, stood on his tip toes and pulled Harry into a kiss. Harry responded immediately and returned Louis' kisses. Harry tasted of strawberry icing, so sweet. Louis let his finger run amok Harry's luscious hair.

"Lou... Louis... You, you're so lovely."

Louis licked into Harry's mouth and Harry preened and pushed Louis against the counter. When things got too heated, Louis pulled back.

"Not in the kitchen, Harold. Buy me dinner first." Louis grinned as he grabbed a few cupcakes on a plate and walked outside the kitchen.

"I bought you dinner last night."

"That wasn't a date."

"Okay. Louis Tomlinson, will you go out with me tonight?"

"No."

"What?"

"Yes, yes. I will.” He looked around before speaking, “Uh, my shift ends pretty late, like around 11? It's too late to have dinner."

"Then when do you have your dinner? Like usually?" Harry asked sitting on the floor near the French doors. Louis smiled and sat across him.

"We get a fifteen minutes break and me and my colleagues... we all eat together."

"Oh."

"Do you want tea?" Louis asked getting up.

"That would be great." Harry said sheepishly.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." And Louis sauntered lazily towards the kitchen. Few minutes later, he came back holding two mugs of steaming hot tea. He bent down to hand Harry one.

"Thanks." Harry smiled shyly at Louis who took his place back in front of Harry. Louis leaned on the glass doors which had warmed up from the little sunshine outside.

"I don't really know much about you, Harry..." Louis said slowly while taking sips from his mug.

"Not to sound like a douche, but didn't you Google me or something?"

Louis laughed. "I was about to but I realized that Cinderella did not _Google_ Prince Charming." And he smiled cheekily.

Harry looked like he had a hard time believing Louis was real. "So you're Cinderella?"

"I could be, but I have stinky Vans or sneakers... No glass slippers." Louis grinned that silly grin.

"Okay then, ask me anything."

"You serious? Louis' eyes widened.

"Yep."

"You don't want me to sign a non-disclosure or summat?"

"Louis." Harry said and took Louis' hand in his. He laced their fingers together. "I trust you."

Louis looked down at their hands and gulped. Despite being a huge public figure, there was still so much mystery about Harry Styles. There were a billion things he wanted to ask Harry but his mind could only draw up a blank. He took his time thinking, though. Harry's hands were soft between his and every time Louis looked at their hands, he felt his heart skip a beat.

Louis had never felt like this before.

"Tell me about your first kiss." Louis said.

"My first kiss…" Harry giggled, "Uh, it was with a girl actually. When I was 14, I think? Yeah, 14. She was my English teacher's daughter. Kissed her during our group project. We were alone in the class…"

"Then what happened?"

"She never talked to me again."

"C'mon, no way! And with those curls? Girls must've fawned over you all the time."

"No it wasn't like that at all..."

"I don't believe that."

"Wait, it gets better." Harry said tracing the rim of the mug with his finger. "I failed English that year."

Louis burst out laughing. "Oh my God!" He placed his mug on the floor as his whole body shook with laughter. Harry just stared him, grinning. "That... That is very sad, mate." Louis said between laughs.

"What about you? Your first kiss?"

"Mine was with a boy. Timothy, his name was. I was 15 or 16 maybe. He was my best mate's cousin or something. Anyway, he'd come down to visit her for the summer and we ended up alone for some time and, well, it happened."

"Was he a good kisser?"

"Not more than you, Harold."

Harry raised his brow. "Obviously."

Louis shook his head and rolled his eyes. He grabbed Harry's chin and pecked his lips lightly. Harry raised his head for more but Louis was quick to pull back. Harry pouted.

"You think you look cute but really, you just look like a baby chick with that pout."

"I'll have you know, Mr. Tomlinson, that girls die for that face."

"Bullshit."

And that was all it took for Harry to grab his phone and slide his fingers on the screen to open the camera.

"What are you doing?" Louis asked, confused. Harry just grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards his side.

"We're taking a selfie."

"What? No." And Louis struggled to get out of Harry's arms but Harry encircled his arms around Louis' waist and held him tight next to him. Before Louis knew it, the shutter went off and Harry took three pictures.

The pictures turned out to be hilarious. It contained Louis with an adorable grumpy face and Harry recreating his 'baby chick' pout. Harry immediately opened his Twitter app. He uploaded the picture and typed above the picture,

**_@Harry _Styles: Baby chick or nahh?_ **

Harry quickly clicked on the Send Tweet button and Louis huffed angrily beside him.

"I looked terrible."

"You look cute."

"60 million people will see that picture." Louis said as a matter of fact. He didn't change his position so he was still in Harry's arms. Harry shifted to sit behind him and he hooked his chin to Louis' shoulder. Louis felt his chest go warm and tingly.

"How do you know my follower count? You been stalking me?"

"Well, if you must know, I sent you a tweet a couple days ago..."

"What's your user?"

Louis told him and over his shoulder so Louis could see as well, Harry typed in Louis' name. He quickly went through his profile and reached his tweets.

"You tweeted about the pasta I made you?" Harry said laughing.

"I wanted to thank you, don't laugh!"

Harry quietened and clicked on the reply button.

**@Louis_Tomlinson Pleasure's always mine xx**

And he hit send. He went back to Louis' profile and after following him he locked his iPhone and put it back in his pocket.

"Baby chick doesn't really make sense, Lou. Chicks are already babies aren't they?"

"It sounds cute, I suppose?"

"Perhaps."

Louis opened his mouth to retort but his phone went off. He got out of Harry's embrace and crawled on his fours to reach for his phone on the center table.

"Mmmmm nice view." Harry said appreciatively. Louis' bum was practically in his face. He didn't reply.

"Huh. It's Lottie's text. Go figure."

"Show me!" Harry demanded.

Louis crawled back to Harry and they read the text together. It said,

_Lotts: I can't believe my brother is shagging Harry Styles. (1:05 PM)_

And a picture that Harry tweeted was attached to the text.

They looked at each other, both faces smirking.

"Technically..." Louis started but Harry never let him finish and he pounced on Louis, lips attacking his.

 

\--------

 

 

Harry and Louis spent the rest of the day together. There was conversation, groping, kissing and a little bit of bonding. Louis' shift, as per usual, was to begin at 5 so, technically, they didn't spend the whole day together. But whatever hours they did spend together, time flew faster than any rocket.

Louis learnt that Harry's guilty pleasure was make up, just a little bit bronzer and mascara made him very happy. He learnt what were the best and worst parts of Harry's 'celebrity' life. (Spoiling his family and not having to worry about money was the best and the worst part was the endless speculation about his private life but he was used to it). Louis also found out that his favorite colour was purple, but not the baby purple. He liked dark purple.

Harry loved to go fishing, and he had a soft spot in his heart for rom-coms (They made plans to watch Bridesmaids later). His birthday was on February 1st and every year he threw massive charity galas on his birthday. Harry promised Louis to invite him to his next one. They talked about everything and not once did Harry look bored or tired. They got to know each other, firsthand accounts and all.

But no one dared to bring up the topic of commitment, the topic of where they stood now that they had crossed the precarious line between friendship and benefits. Obviously, it crossed Louis' mind but he wasn't an _idiot_ , for God's sake. They were having so much fun and bringing that up would put a damper on everything and make things awkward. Louis didn't think he had smiled this much before in a single day. Ever. Besides, Louis liked Harry too much and the thought of departures and goodbyes made his heart feel heavy.

Avoidance it was then. They'd see how things went.

As of now, Louis was getting ready for work in his bedroom and Harry was sprawled on his bed going through a book on Louis' nightstand. They made small talk and Louis grabbed his keys and satchel. Harry followed him out.

"So we're going for ice-cream after work?"

"Definitely. I'll pick you up. Gimme a ring when work's done." Harry said.

"You saved my number?"

"Yes. Saved by CinderLou, if you were wondering. Cinderella is so overrated."

"What am I going to do with you?" Louis said, sighing.

"Hopefully kiss me before you leave for work."

Louis grinned coyly at Harry and stood up on his tip toes. He wound his arms around Harry's neck and pressed his lips to Harry's. It was a sweet and short kiss and it ended too quickly for both their likings.

Suddenly, a car honked loudly from near them. Harry looked up to see a black Range Rover (which wasn't his mum's by the way) stood in front of their house. The mirrors were tinted so Harry couldn't see who it was.

The engine shut off and a person emerged from the car. He was wearing a white v neck tee beneath a very expensive looking leather jacket and his eyes were hidden by shades. His hair was sun-kissed blonde. As soon as Harry saw him he exclaimed,

"Niall!"

"My brother from another mother, c'mere!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love and appreciate the comments so much. They make my day. So let me know your thoughts! :) 
> 
> Leave kudos if you like it x 
> 
> Next chapter will be up by next week. 
> 
>  
> 
> PS - Last week I posted a small one shot. So check it out maybe? It's complete. 
> 
> It's Valentines' Day AU. Louis is a famous fashion designer an Harry stays home with their kid. The best gift Louis can give Harry is his time.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: H&L are kissing before L leaves for work and N shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Sorry for the delayed chapter. Life happened.   
> Foremost, thanks to my badass beta Ro. He's the real deal. And I love him. Warrior of grammatical mistakes and wrong spellings.

Harry and Niall were standing on the porch of Anne's home. Niall was tapping his foot and whistling loudly. He had his shades perched on the top of his head. Beside him, Harry was appraising Niall suspiciously.

"You gotta ring that thing, mate." Niall pointed to the doorbell.

Harry didn't move or reply so Niall just raised his eyebrows at him.

"I love you, Niall. But what are you doing here?" Harry asked skeptically.

Niall rolled his eyes and sighed. He stood on his tip toes to whisper in Harry's ear. "Your sister home?" A dopey grin laced his mouth as he chewed his gum loudly.

Harry made a sound of disgust and pulled away from Niall. Harry glared down at him and hissed, "Don't even try."

"Aw you're no fun, Harold."

Anne opened the door to a furious Harry glaring at a laughing Niall.

"Niall? Is that you?" She gushed. She walked in between them and hugged Niall tightly. "Harry never mentioned you were coming. It's been ages!" She kissed both his cheeks, "You look lovely, dear. Oh my god, what a pleasant surprise. Come on in I just made some fresh orange juice, your favourite!" She led Niall in and Harry grumpily followed. "Shut the door behind you, Harry." His mom said.

Harry slammed it shut muttering curses under his breath. All of a sudden he was feeling moody. Maybe it was because he had to let go of Louis so soon.

Louis. _Lou._

Harry sighed dreamily. Today had been amazing. _Louis_ was amazing. Harry was feeling absolutely starstruck. He'd see Louis again in a few hours, he was aware of that. Those hours felt like an eternity. Harry could still feel Louis on his lips.

Louis didn't really get a chance to meet Niall properly. He was already late for work because Harry wouldn't stop kissing his mouth and wouldn't let him go. So as soon as Niall arrived Louis got away with a quick ' _hi I'm Louis and I'm late for work'._ Niall just waved and wiggled his eyebrows at Harry.

"Who was _that_?" Niall had said.

Harry was at a loss of words. "He… he-he's-"

Niall didn't really let him finish. "I come to see you from fucking Ireland and you don't even gimme a hug! C'mere" Niall had said spreading his arms wide. Harry gingerly walked into his embrace and hugged Niall. "There. There's a good lad." Niall laughed. Harry always suspected that Niall had ADHD because getting distracted about everything wasn't _normal_. How in the world he managed to land a job at his management in the first place was beyond Harry. Niall's always been a charming bloke. His charm and his smooth talk took him places. One time, Niall managed to land a Sunday brunch with the Beckham family, yes as in David fucking Beckham. Harry was awed and scared of him at the same time.

Harry was still confused by his presence at the moment. If Niall was here to drag Harry back for work or something work related--no. Just no. Harry would kick his arse back to fucking Westmeath. There was no way he was giving up his break.

Obviously if it was another circumstance, the one where he hadn't met the gorgeous Louis, he might consider it. But now, _nope_. No thank you.

Harry sighed and pulled the rubber band from his hair to let his hair down. Encasing it in a bun for a long time usually gave him migraines. He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up and walked in the living room.

Niall was sitting alone and--

"Niall! What are you-"

"Ssh." Niall hissed looking back and forth. The glass of orange juice was perched precariously between his knees and he was pouring something that looked suspiciously like vodka from a silver flask in the glass. Harry sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Harry grabbed the flask from Niall. "Hey!" He whisper-yelled. "That's mine!"

"You're not a teenager anymore, Niall."

"Shut up and give that back."

"Why are you really here? Tell me and I'll give it back." Niall glared at him looking like Harry had seriously offended him. _Irish lads and their liquor_ , Harry thought crustily.

"I'll explain everything later. Swear. Give it back. Anne will be back any moment."

Harry gave it back reluctantly but made sure that Niall put it away. Out of sight, out of mind.

At least for now. Harry did feel slightly stressed at the implication that Niall brought along with him. Did something serious happen? Was there another bullshit rumor about him? Harry felt his blood pressure ascend.

"Niall." Harry hissed. Niall looked up from his phone. "Is it, is it something serious? Like, should I be scared?" Harry asked nervously.

"Why would you think that?"

"You show up here unannounced and well, that's not really common."

"Hazza, mate, come on. Chill okay? I do have a reason for coming and- ooooh maybe it's to flirt with your sister. Where is she though? D'ya think she'll be wearing a sui-"

"Niall! Focus."

"Yes, okay. Focus. So what was I saying? Good Lord, this juice tastes a lot better now." he muttered taking a sip of the juice or whatever there was in it now. "Mm-mmm, thas' what I'm talking about."

Harry was a second away from pulling his hair and flinging himself off the rooftop. He was _beyond_ frustrated. "Your reason for coming here?" he tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"Ah yes! So you have nothing to be worried about. I promise. We'll talk about it later though. Man, I'm starving!"

Anne chose that moment to walk in with a tray full of cookies. Niall shrieked in delight. She placed the tray in front of Niall and smoothening her dress, she sat down on the couch beside Niall who had, at once, begun gorging on the cookies.

"You're staying here, Niall. Right?" Anne asked kindly. "You have to!"

Niall took his time chewing and when he had swallowed he said, "Harold here wouldn't let me stay anywhere else right Haz?"

Harry didn't remember suggesting anything like that at all. Rolling his eyes explicitly he said, "Well there is this great bed and breakfa-"

"Great! Which room is mine? Also, I left me duffel on the foyer could ya ged' it for me?"

"Niall, darling, come on I'll show you the guest room. Harry will get your bag."

Together (Niall took the tray with him obviously) they wandered off upstairs leaving a petulant Harry grumbling to himself. Stomping his legs, he grabbed Niall's small bag (at least small bag meant small stay) and dragged it with himself upstairs. He kept checking his watch and nope, it wasn't time to see Louis. Harry hated the universe.

 

 

\---

 

There was a knock at Harry's door.

"Haz, it's me. Can I come in?"

Sighing, Harry got up from his four poster bed and went to open the door. Niall had apparently showered and changed. He was wearing a grey tee paired with blue sweatpants and his hair was still wet.

"Since when do you knock?" Harry remarked. Niall followed Harry into his room and closed the door behind him.

"This is a nice room. Fancy."

"So you've eaten, had drinks, showered and changed. Now you ready to talk?"

Niall laughed loudly, his laughs echoing in Harry's large room. "Alright. Sit down." He said ushering Harry on the bed. Niall stood in front of him. Harry felt like a child.

"You have to come down to London with me. For a week."

Harry didn't say anything. Just stared. Niall waited patiently. When Harry didn't make any move to reply, Niall spoke again.

"Harr-"

"No."

"Listen to-"

 _"No._ This is supposed to be my break! I think I made it very clear in that meeting that I will not do any work in these two months. Niall, this is my first break after _years_!"

"Just listen to me, okay?"

"You're going to speak anyway."

"Yes. So your tour is set to begin in February. It's almost December now. And we do not have an opening act yet!"

"What?" Harry exclaimed. "What happened to the girl group we signed?"

"It wasn't really much of a group, they were a duet."

"Were?"

"One of them slept with the other's boyfriend or something like that. So they split."

Harry felt his blood pressure definitely rise now as he clutched his face in his palms. His body filled with dread and his mind was a whirlwind of anxious thoughts.

"Do we have a backup plan or something?"

"Not really, _but_ I knew that you wouldn't want to come back to work so soon so I shortlisted five to six acts and you just have to choose. That's it, Harry. It's just a week, come on."

When Harry didn't say anything, Niall grabbed his shoulders and shook him out of his reverie.

"So? You coming or do you want to let _freaking Simon_ choose for you? It is your tour after all..."

Harry shuddered at the thought. He knew what Niall was doing. He was using all the right words and Niall knew how to trigger Harry. He knew that Harry was a perfectionist and he knew how to use it to make Harry oblige.

"It's because of him, isn't it? The dude with blue eyes..." Niall trailed off. For a while they both didn't say anything and Niall moved to sit beside Harry. He put his arms around Harry's shoulders and Harry automatically leaned in. This was it. This was their thing. Niall could easily sense when Harry was upset and Harry wasn't the one who needed comforting words. He just needed a friendly, unbiased presence beside him. And Niall knew how to provide that.

"You haven't seen someone in such a long time, Haz…"

"Louis. His name's Louis." Harry mumbled in Niall's shoulder.

"It's just a week though..."

"I know. But we...we were just... _we just happened_ , Niall. Like last night."

"Oh."

"I don't want to leave now. We haven't even properly begun... whatever it is we're doing."

"So is it like a no strings attached thing?"

"Uh, I don't think so. We haven't really talked about any of that... stuff."

"Stuff." Niall snorted.

"You know what I mean." Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed. What does he do?"

"He's a chef. He's amazing at what he does, Niall. I'll take you to the restaurant where he works."

"Chef, huh." Niall laughed lightly. "Sounds more like _my_ dream man than yours."

Harry pulled back and slapped Niall on the head. "You're not even into men, geez."

Niall smirked suggestively. "Maybe Louis made me." He finger quoted 'Louis'.

Harry growled playfully and punched him hard in the stomach.

"Okay okay.. Sorry!" Niall wheezed in between rapid breaths.

"You're such a nuisance, Niall. Wait here. Let me get some beers from downstairs and you can tell me what you've been up to in Ireland."

\-----------

 

Louis felt a smack on his head. Rubbing his head, he turned to look over at his assaulter and sure enough, she was narrowing her eyes on him, expression annoyed.

"Riley, what did I do now?" He snapped.

From across the table, she lifted her hands up and examined her glittery fingernails. "You're doing that thing again."

Louis stared at her blankly. Around him, his colleagues (and friends) were sitting and chatting. Cheap beer, chips, laughter and light hearted gossip was floating around the room. The chefs, waiters, waitresses, cleaners and even the owner of the restaurant himself were milling around, talking and catching up. It was their Thursday tradition.

Before the madness that the weekend began, every Thursdays all the employees would gather and have a small get together after the restaurant was officially closed for patrons. It was nothing wild, just something small to gossip about how the microwave was shit and seriously needed to be replaced or how some of the elderly patrons were absolute nightmares. The owner, Ricky, a 65 year old balding guy insisted on it every week. He felt it contributed to 'community spirit' and encouraged 'bonding between his employees' and made them more 'united'.

"What thing?" He muttered petulantly. Deep down, Louis was very much aware of what he was doing. Harry had texted a few minutes ago that he was on his way and Louis kept checking his watch and jiggling his foot, a habit he had picked from his mother.

"You're so full of shit."

"Who's full of shit?" Ricky said from behind him. Slowly, at the pace of an elderly person, he pulled a chair beside Louis and squatted noisily. "Hmm?" He said drinking his beer.

Louis snatched the bottle from his boss' hand. "Are you even supposed to be drinking that?"

"Don't be silly, of course not."

"Then I'll make sure your granddaughter is aware of this, playboy."

Ricky laughed out a loud, croaky laugh. "You're fired!"

"Yeah, right." Louis said dryly. He lifted his wrist subtly under the table to check the time again. His phone didn't display a text either. Louis mentally slapped himself for being paranoid.

"Louis has a secret boyfriend." Louis could hear Riley talking to Ricky. Louis' head whipped up immediately at that, so much so that he felt like he broke a tendon in his neck. There were moments when he wanted to strangle Riley and there were moments when he didn't want to strangle Riley. Right now, he definitely wanted to strangle her. Preferably, throw her in the lake too.

" _What?_ Who even told you that?"

"No one. You evidently made it clear now, honey. So who is it?"

When Louis didn't reply, Ricky patted him on the back. "Louis. Tell us or you're fired."

He stared at his boss in disbelief. Obviously, the whole 'you're fired' thing was a joke. Everyone was aware of that. Ricky liked to throw it around all the time. In reality, he never had to really fire anyone but he claimed that he enjoyed saying it nonetheless.

"Yes come on, Louis. Tell us." Talia said rounding up to them and smiling a little too sweetly. _Great_ , he thought. Louis eyed the butter knife lying on the table beside a basket of croissants. He could either stab all three of them or stab himself. The latter seemed to be a better option. He groaned loudly. Suddenly, he felt his thigh vibrate. He yanked out his phone and sure enough there was a text from ' **Harry <3'**

**Harry <3: Outside xx**

Louis quickly stood up. "This was fun. Gotta go. Bye." He muttered blankly and three sets of eyes followed him as he turned to walk out but Talia grabbed the hood of his hoodie and yanked him back.

"Is it Harry Styles?" Riley said slyly. Ricky looked expectantly at him through his huge glasses and Talia smiled in her glass of apple juice. He knew he couldn't get out of this one so he stared at his shoes and muttered a small 'yes'. Riley's eyebrow shot up to her hairline, Ricky started cooing drunkenly and Talia wound an arm around him, squeezing his waist.

"Can I go now?" Louis said burying his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Go. Go get laid." and "Yasss, Louis, go get some!" was what he was replied with paired with a couple cheers. He felt his cheeks go crimson with embarrassment.

Talia stood in front of him. She placed her drink on the table and ran her fingers through Louis' hair. She mussed it up slightly and artfully set his fringe. Louis stood patiently, sighing.

"Better." She murmured. She bent down and placed a small kiss on his lips. Louis smiled fondly at her, crinkles and all. "Go now."

 

As soon as Louis' feet hit the pavement, the cool hair engulfed him immediately and he felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He looked around and immediately spotted a black Audi, unmistakably Anne's. The windows were tinted so he couldn't see inside as he walked up to the car. He bent down and knocked lightly on the window of the passenger's seat. He heard a click and the door opened. Harry was smiling at him widely. Louis smiled back and slid into the car beside him. He mentally moaned at the feel of the plush leather in the posh car.

For a second, they both didn't know what to do so there was the little of the littlest awkward silence but it disappeared as soon as it came.

Louis couldn't stop smiling.

Harry couldn't stop looking at him like he hung the stars.

"Hi," Louis said in a tiny voice. He placed his hands on his thighs and played with the seams on his jeans. Harry revved the engine and released the clutch and the car lurched forward.

"Hey, how was work?" Harry said. He had one hand on the steering wheel and one on the gear. Louis was unable to take his eyes of Harry's large hand covering the gear. The veins stretched as Harry changed gears. Louis tried not to gulp too loudly.

"Work was...okay?" Louis said slowly, remembering Ricky and Riley their vulgar comments when he left. Louis suddenly remembered the blonde leather jacket dude – Nigel was it? Neil? – showing up today at Harry's house and how Harry had tensed up in his arms.

"Your friend is still here?" Louis asked.

"Uhh, yeah." Harry said awkwardly. Louis didn't want to push him but he was an incredibly curious person, okay? He was shamelessly nosy and if there was a Nobel Prize for not minding your own business, Louis was confident that he'd own it. Louis remembered from a distant conversation that the guy was Harry's best mate and the head of his PR team.

Judging from Harry's reaction, Louis was pretty sure that his friend' visit was not an expected one. Then maybe it was a work related thing? Louis' mind went wild as he realized that there could be a possibility of Harry having to leave. He felt his heart lodge in his throat just at the mere thought of it.

"May I ask why?" Louis said turning his body to face Harry. Harry kept his eyes on the road pausing occasionally to look at Louis. He grinned every time their eyes locked. Honestly, Louis hated seatbelts. What stupid, stupid things.

Harry paused for a bit before answering. "Um. It's nothing. Just a, a w-w-work related thing?"

"Oh," Louis felt his stomach fill with dread. "You're not going anywhere, are you?"

"I don't know."

"Okay." Louis said in a small voice. Louis felt really bitter. It wasn't fair. The concept was 'them', of two people together, of Harry and Louis hadn't even begun yet and Louis had to share him with the world. He felt really bitter towards Harry's job. He wanted to have Harry curl up against his side and never leave. He wanted to touch Harry, wanted to feel him. He was sitting just beside him yet so far. Louis hated it.

Gulping loudly, Louis managed to move his lips to speak, "Can you pull over?"

One look at Louis and Harry immediately pulled over and shut the engine. It was around 11 pm and the road was deserted. Not that there was much around anyway. They had foliage and darkness surrounding them on either side. It was hauntingly beautiful.

"Lou, you alright?"

Louis didn't say anything. He removed his seatbelt and palmed Harry's face in his head. Slowly, he ran his finger on his cheekbone. Harry leaned in to his touch immediately. Louis bent forward and placed his lips on Harry's who immediately responded. They kissed long and slow and Louis poured everything into the kiss. The words he didn't say, the feelings he didn't express.

Harry, meanwhile, with his strong body and everything, curled his arms around Louis' hips and in one swift move he lifted Louis onto his lap. Louis was stunned. _Who is this guy_ , he thought. Louis' back hit the steering wheel and he wound his arms around Harry's neck pulling him closer and closer.

"Missed you." Harry said in Louis' mouth. His hands travelled from Louis' sides to the base of his spine. He let his hands wander as he caressed the skin under his shirt. Louis' back arched under his touch and he was already semi hard from Harry's ridiculous but sexy move of getting Louis in his lap. Louis moved his hands to Harry's hair and he clutched them tight in his fingers to raise Harry's head to meet his. Louis sucked long, deep kisses on Harry's mouth as soon as their lips met. Louis realized that he was very fond of Harry's lips. They were naturally red lips and they were always wet and shiny.

Harry's lips were a Renoir painting and his body, a classic Degas. Louis was mesmerized. His heart was wildly throbbing in his chest and at some point he actually wondered if Harry could hear it in the dead silence that surrounded them.

When Louis pulled back, Harry's hand tightened on his back. His eyes, green and wide bore into Louis' and his chest moving rapidly. Louis matched his breaths with Harry and they were sharing the same air, literally.

Louis bent down and pecked his lips lightly. "What... Who are you..." Harry said in a daze.

Louis giggled and buried his face in Harry's neck. Harry rested his head on Louis' and there, just like that. They fit perfectly amongst each other.

"Harry?" Louis mumbled in his neck.

"Hmm?"

"I- I really like you, y'know."

"I do. I like you too. A lot. Like, _a lot_." Louis giggled.

"I don't really put myself out there very often. So, y'know. Just don't break my heart,"

Harry's laugh caused vibrations in his chest and Louis could feel it into his toes. "You're such a sap." Louis hit him lightly on the shoulder. Harry ran his hand up Louis' arm to his neck and finally placed in on his hair, slowly caressing it. "I won't, though. Promise."

"Good."

Harry hummed silently.

"We should get going." Louis pointed getting up from his position. He tried to maneuver his legs over the console but kept losing his balance. Huffing, he placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and lifted himself up but slipped back on Harry's lap again.

Harry couldn't stop laughing. "You could help, you know?" Louis muttered.

"But I quite like where you are right now."

"Harry." Louis said in a mommy tone. Harry just smiled back mischievously, eyes twinkling. He tightened his arms around Louis' waist and pulled Louis into another kiss.

Hands were shoved in trousers, hair were wrecked and lips swollen. Harry and Louis stayed in the car for quite some while.

 

 

\----

 

"I love strawberry, honestly I do. But chocolate is so much better, don't you think? It is more variant. There's dark chocolate, there's white chocolate and there's the regular one. Strawberry is just so, I dunno, easy? I could easily whip out a strawberry ice cream on my own. Making chocolate is the real deal. You have to be careful to not make it too dark or too sweet. I love a good challenge." Louis ranted waving his plastic spoon around. His cup of ice cream sat on his thigh and Louis was getting goosebumps from it. Harry, beside him, was scarfing down his pistachio ice cream, his tongue getting green.

"But strawberries can be...sexy?" Harry said, licking his spoon clean.

Louis stared at him in mock disbelief. "You're sexualizing food!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "What are your thoughts on strawberry covered," He licked his spoon, "with chocolate," another lick, "and placed on my... let's say, chest? Or thighs rather. You were awfully fond of them this morning." Harry said slowly.

Louis didn't reply at once, his body frozen and mind taken aback. His mind was flooded with images of strawberries, chocolate and Harry. _Harry_. Subconsciously, he chewed on his lip ice cream forgotten.

"Thought so." Harry said smugly. He leaned over the console and grabbed Louis' cup of ice cream. He scooped whatever was remaining of Louis' ice cream in his spoon and put it in his mouth. Louis stared.

"What. The. Fuck." Louis said, pronouncing each syllable slowly and carefully.

"Sorry--- _aaah_! Brainfreeze!" Harry yelled clutching his head. Louis just laughed at him.

"Serves you right."

"Ow."

Louis leaned over and patted Harry's head. "Poor guy." He kissed his head.

They sat in the car for some more time, talking and talking with the occasional kisses here and there. Louis told Harry about his mates from work and in return Harry told hilarious stories about Niall and his other friends. Louis realized that it was so easy to forget that Harry was a massive celebrity outside of this small town.

Here with him he was just a normal guy who was weirdly obsessed with Game of Thrones, scented candles and anything with lavender in it. He could choose anyone he wanted, literally. Louis bet that there wasn't a single person who'd say no to Harry Styles. He was absolutely lovely. Yet somehow, he liked Louis. A small, very insecure part of Louis' mind felt that it was because Holmes Chapel was a small place and there weren't many young, gay men to choose from. Maybe he genuinely liked Louis for who he was. Maybe he didn't.

"I'm just going to throw these out," Harry said lifting the empty cups and pointing to the trash can across the street. "Be right back." He smiled, kissed Louis lightly and opened the car door.

As soon as Harry left, his phone pinged. Harry had left it, screen up and on the car seat. Louis bit his thumb. "Don't look don't look." He screwed his eyes shut telling himself that curiosity killed the cat.

It pinged again and this time Louis just couldn't resist peeking. The phone displayed a WhatsApp message.

_Niall Horan: So? You coming or not? Tell me ASAP I need to do a few bookings and let the promoters know._

_Niall Horan: Harry? We leave in two days I cannot give you more time to decide._

Louis immediately pulled himself back. Oh. _Oh._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Thoughts? Comments below! =) I love reading those. 
> 
> And I'd like to thank the few people who have been commenting on the recent chapters. I LOVE YOU AND I APPRECIATE YOU. <33
> 
> Leave kudos if you like it? No? Okay. :P
> 
>  
> 
> PS - Has anyone heard Badlands by Halsey? I AM IN FREAKING LOVE. *dies*


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